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, Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. — Xenophon. 
Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the State.— Sully. 



Oh. B. Williams, Ed. & Pro'r. 
Frank G. Ruffin, Co-Editor. 



Jno M. Allan, Hort'l Editor. 
Wm. L Hill. G-en'l Agent. 



New Scries. 



RICHMOND, YA„ NOVEMBER 1869. 



Vol. III.— No. 11. 



COnSTTElSTTS 



Agricultural Department: 



Dr, Voel^ker's Experiments in 

Carbolic Acid as a Disinfectant. 

Hints on Horse Flesh, by Dr. Lemercier, 

Lotion lor Cutaneous Irritation 

Bots in Horses, bv Dr. Wm. Abram Love 

Pigs— Their Rearing and Fattening 

Book Farming 

International Industrial Exhibition 

Manures— How and When to Use Them.. 

Norfolk and Great Western Railroad 

Self-Culture 

Agricultural and Mechanical Fairs 

Wheat Culture— New Process In 

Cotton Manufacturing Sou h*. , 

Woman's Power— Where it Lies 

G easing Wagons , 

How to Keep the Hay Crop 



Clover as a Preparation for Wheat, &c. 



PAGE 



661 
665 



6K7 



Horticultural Department: 

The Augusta County Fair 674 Grapes Under Glass 

Parlor Flowers 676 Nut. Culture 

Care of Newly- Planted Trees 678 Autumn Transplanting. 

Root-Pruning of Fruit Trees 680 Trenching for Roses.. 

Pear Growing in Delaware 

Successful Plum Culture 682 A Brilliant Flower-Bed 

Mintng Department: 
Mineral Wealth of Nations— Tron.... 
Gold and Silver Statistics of Mexico. 



.683 Coal. 



Household Department: 

Rural Architecture— No. 2 , 

Editorial Department : 

Address of Prof. J. W. Mallet at the Augusta County Fair 

Correspondence Southern Planter and Farmer— Letter from Washington. 

The Plough from a Philological Standpoint— The Root AR 

Book Notices, &a 701 Bones 

The Charlottesville Woolen Mills 

The Norfolk Oil and Fish Guano Company 704 Drain Tiles 



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CH: B. WILLIAMS, Editor and Proprietor. 

FRANK G. RUFFIN, . Co-Editor. 



New Series. RICHMOND, VA., NOVEMBER 1869. Vol. Ill-No, 11; 

.. • • . ., ,., 

Dp. VoeScker's Chemical Investigations in 1868. 

In a lecture delivered by Dr. Voelcker, in May last, at the rooms 
of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, we find reported 
some remarkable results of field experiments instituted at his in- 
stance, and especially interesting in regard to nitrogenous manures 
applied to clover, and the value of clover fallow as the best prepa- 
ration for wheat. We submit them to the careful study of our read- 
ers, and commend them to their early attention : 

" Let me give you a brief account of some of the field experiments 
which have been carried on for a number of years, chiefly by former 
pupils of mine, who are now members of a club which may be called 
the field club of the Royal Agricultural College, at Cirencester. 
That is a club in the proceedings of which I take much interest ; 
because, as I have intimated, it includes many of my former pupils, 
men who are rising in the agricultural world, and who are willing 
and qualified to make trustworthy and useful practical field experi- 
ments. Now I would refer especially to a series of experiments of 
clover seeds and on clover, some of the results of which were pub- 
lished in the last part of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England. Without wearying you with many details, I 
would allude to a series of experiments carried out in the years 
VOL. ill— -41 



642 THE SOUTHERN # [November 

1867-68, at Escrick Park Home Farm, near York, by my friend 
and former colleague, Mr. Coleman.* In all my field experi- 
ments, I may remark, the same manuring substances, or their mix-* 
tures, were employed in the several localities in which the experi- 
ments were tried. They were the following : Nitrate of soda, sul- 
phate of ammonia, mineral superphosphate, common salt, muriate 
of potash, sulphate of potash, and sulphate of lime. I am always 
careful to have two plots on which no manure is used. In preceding 
years I tried these various substances upon heavy soils ; one of the 
objects which I had especially in view being to ascertain under what 
circumstances the artificial supply of potash was attended with 
practical benefit to the farmer. Speaking generally, I may say, the 
result was not favorable to the artificial supply of potash on most 
of the heavy soils. In the majority of cases the increase of pro- 
duce was not sufficiently striking to repay the greater portion of 
the outlay attending the purchase of potash manure ■ while in many 
instances I could see no beneficial effect whatever resulting from the 
application of potash manures to heavy land. Now, if we look at 
the chemical composition of clays of a better description, we shall 
find that most of them abound in silicate of potash, and under the 
decomposing influence of atmospheric action they readily yield solu- 
ble potash. Indeed, in some of the experiments, the results of 
which I published some time back in the Journal, on the effect of 
water passing through the soil, it appeared that some kinds of liquid 
manure — very dilute, liquid manure, containing but little potash — 
in passing through clay soils, actually became charged with potash, 
the drainage waters possessing more potash than the liquid manure 
contained in its natural condition. This shows clearly that on cer- 
tain clay soils the application of potash manure is not desirable. I 
here allude more especially to such soils as the excellent one — I use 
the word " excellent" in a purely chemical point of view — of Mr. 
Mechi's farm at Tiptree. Mr. Mechi had to deal with a very un- 
productive clay soil ; but as it is full of mineral matters, he found 
the more he worked his land the better became his crops. In his 
case there was actually more potash removed from the land by pass- 
ing the tank liquid through the soil than was contained in that 
liquid itself. Here we have a ready explanation of the fact, that 
in good clay soils an artificial supply of potash is not attended with 
any benefit to the person using it. I have, therefore, been anxious 
during the last year or two to try experiments, mainly in light soils, 

* See October No. Southern Planter and Farmer, page 677. 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 643 



and a capital opportunity was afforded for this purpose in the case 
of the extremely poor soil of the Home Farm, belonging to Lord 
Wenlock. I gave the analysis of this soil in the Journal. It there 
appeared that the soil contained as much as 91.8 (that is, nearly 92) 
per cent, of quartz sand, an exceedingly small quantity of potash, 
a mere trace of phosphoric acid, and very little lime. That soil 
was ascertained to be poor in every description of mineral matter 
which is necessary to bring agricultural produce to perfection ; but 
I had the gratification of finding that on such a soil the supply of 
the mineral food required for the clover crop is attended with the 
most beneficial results. Incidentally I had occasion to make some 
observations with respeet to the utility of nitrogenous manures ; and 
I believe that such manures will prove very useful to the practical 
farmer who has frequently to deal with a variety of soils, and 
ought, therefore, to be in a position to judge what description of 
manure is best suited to particular classes of soils. Now, reverting 
to the experiments which were made at Escrick, I find that whilst 
common salt — that is, chloride of sodium — had no effect on the pro- 
duce, muriate of potash — that is, the compound of chlorine with 
potassium — materially increased it. Soda is frequently a mere ac- 
cidental constituent, which, in the form of chloride of sodium, indi- 
rectly tends to introduce food into the vegetable organism, but 
which, in its turn, is eliminated from the ripe produce. I find that 
chloride of sodium circulates in many plants, but that it does not 
enter into the chemical composition of the perfected seed of the 
plant. In perfectly ripe wheat you will find no chloride of sodium ; 
in perfectly ripe beans and seeds, and many other plants, you find 
hardly any chloride of sodium ; while this substance circulates very 
freely in the green plant, and is productive of very great advantage 
to the general condition of the vegetation. The case is, however, 
different as regards potash. Potash enters into actual union with 
many parts of plants, and it is absolutely necessary to bring the 
plant to perfection. To show you the difference between the physio- 
logical effects of potash and soda in this respect, I would just men- 
tion that, whereas you can wash out chloride of sodium with water 
from a substance like the root of the mangold, or the leaf of the 
beet-root, or the stalk of wheat, or from grasses, you cannot re- 
move potash so as to show its presence simply by the mechanical 
process of washing; you cannot prove its existence before you have 
incinerated the plant, destroyed its organic structure, and thus re- 
obtained the potash in the ash. It has, in fact, entered into an or- 
ganic combination, from which it cannot be removed by the mere 



644 THE SOUTHERN [November 



mechanical process of washing. On one of the experimental plots 
of the Escrick Park I used mineral superphosphate alone, and, to 
my astonishment, no effect whatever was produced by its applica- 
tion. This is an interesting result, seeming, as it does, to indicate 
that the great deficiency of potash, which is characteristic of the 
soil in that experimental field, entirely prevented the display of the 
usual functions which we know perfectly well superphosphate of 
lime discharges on land of a better character than that at Escrick. 
The superphosphate (or, rather, the phosphoric acid,) in that ma- 
nure did not act, simply because potash was not present to form 
part of the substance of the clover plant. You can, I think, readily 
understand that. Place before a man all the dry food which tends 
to entice the appetite, and at the same time withhold from him 
drink, and you will find that he cannot assimilate the dry food. You 
may give him every description of dry food that can tempt him to 
eat, but if you keep from him for any long time that unimportant 
substance, as we are too apt to consider it — though it is, in fact, a 
most essential thing — water, he will ultimately perish. Potash is 
non-essential as regards many clay soils, because many clay soils 
contain abundance of potash ; but it is most essential on poor sandy 
soils, because, generally speaking, these soils are very deficient in 
the necessary amount of potash which is required to bring clover 
crops, and I may also say root crops, to perfection. The mixture 
of potash, salts, and superphosphate, yielded the largest weight of 
clover and rye grass, per acre, which was obtained on any of the 
experimental plots. Further, it was astonishing to notice that not 
only was the weight of the first cutting larger in the case of this 
particular plot than on any of the others, but the second cutting 
also yielded a much larger quantity. Let me give you the actual 
figures as respects the produce on these particular plots. With no 
manure whatever the soil yielded per acre of fresh clover 8 tons, 5 
cwt., 40 lbs; mineral phosphates alone gave 8 tons, 4 cwt., 12 lbs. 
Thus there was actually a rather smaller result ; but then you must 
make allowance for variations of soil in the field, and avoid thinking 
too much of small differences of results. Practically speaking, the 
produce was the same in the case of the plot manured with super- 
phosphate as that in the plot which had no manure. The extent of 
these plots was l-20th of an acre in each case, but the yield is cal- 
culated at so much per acre. Well, muriate of potash gave 9 tons, 
16 cwt., 28 lbs., while the mixture of superphosphate and muriate 
of potash gave 13 tons, 15 cwt., 40 lbs., showing a great increase 
of produce above that of the unmanured portion of the field — that 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 645 



is, in the total amount of produce. This was distributed over two 
cuttings. The first cutting from mineral superphosphate and mu- 
riate of potash gave 9 tons ; the second cutting nearly 5 tons ; 
whereas the first cutting on the unmanured portion of the field gave 
5 tons, 9 cwt , 72 lbs., and the second one only 2 tons, 15 cwt., 80 
lbs. Thus, you will observe that, although through the application 
of manure, a larger amount of produce was obtained, yet the agri- 
cultural condition of the land after the application of superphos- 
phate and potash was better than it was when no manure whatever 
was applied. On the other hand, I find that nitrate of soda had an 
unmistakable tendency to exhaust the soil of both the plots in which 
it was used, the second cutting weighing less than that of the un- 
manured plot. It is true that the first cutting weighed rather more 
than that of the unmanured plot; but the second actually weighed 
less, showing clearly that nitrate of soda has an exhausting effect, 
which tells badly on poor land, and that this effect is produced 
rapidly. From these experiments we may learn that nitrate of soda 
alone, or even in combination with superphosphate, should not be 
used as a top-dressing for artificial grasses on very poor sandy soils, 
not even with superphosphate, because it does not supply the need- 
ful alkali potash. Indeed, nitrate of soda, and, to a considerable 
extent, at least, ammoniacal salts, are the worst manures that can 
be used on poor soils. They tend rapidly to the complete exhaus- 
tion of such soils, and do serious injury to the land, while they do 
not even benefit the tenant-farmer who may apply them for a sea- 
son with the view of obtaining a very large produce. On very poor 
sandy soils not only do purely nitrogenous manures rapidly exhaust 
the land, but the produce also becomes very inferior. My friend 
Mr. Coleman was so much struck with the appearance of a particu- 
lar field that he asked me to go down and inspect it. T did go 
down, and I must say that never in my life was I more struck with 
the aspect of a field which had been manured with these different 
fertilizing agents. On the land manured for clover with sulphate of 
ammonia and nitrate of soda there was not a plant of clover to be 
seen, and, quite contrary to my expectation, the true grasses, the 
Italian rye grass, etc., which should have been very luxuriant after 
the first cutting, were quite wanting. The land was, in fact, com- 
pletely burnt up. I should have thought that the soil would stimu- 
late the growth of Italian rye grass, and that a second crop would 
grow luxuriantly ; but, contrary to my previous expectations, not 
even rye grass would grow — clearly showing that, although ammo- 
niacal manures may be very useful for the production of grass and 



646 THE SOUTHERN [November 

corn crops under many circumstances, yet they are not useful when 
there is an insufficient supply of mineral food in the land, and that 
the poorer the land is the more rapidly it becomes unproductive 
when salts of ammonia alone are applied, even as regards those 
plants which in the ordinary course of farming are decidedly bene- 
fited by the use of ammoniacal salts or nitrate of soda. In fact, 
the application of nitrogenous manures in this case evidently tended 
to the complete exhaustion of the land. On the other hand, I was 
struck with the remarkable effects which potash, applied in conjunc- 
tion with phosphatic manures, produced upon the clover plant. You 
could see to a line where the potash and superphosphate had been 
used. There the clover plant was growing luxuriantly and healthy, 
and keeping in check the Italian rye grass with which it had been 
sown. So much, then, with regard to these experiments. I will 
not detain you by referring to similar experiments which were made 
last season. I will only observe that they fully confirm the results 
of the experiments of the preceding season, and at the same time 
show that in very dry seasons it is most desirable to apply saline 
manures sparingly, and also to apply them early in the spring. Al- 
low me to impress upon you, that when you apply top-dressings to 
pasture, or to artificial grasses, or to cereal crops — wheat, oats, or 
even barley — you should apply them early in the spring, in order 
that the manure may have a chance of getting thoroughly distrib- 
uted through the soil by being washed into it. I tried similar ex- 
periments on clover — a mixture of clover seeds of different kinds 
being sown without rye grass or any other grass seeds. The experi- 
ments in that case were undertaken by Mr. Kimber (a former pupil 
of mine), on land which was naturally rather poor, but which had 
been done extremely well. The clover was sown in the preceding 
year with a barley crop coming after a good crop of swedes, being 
well manured with dung and drilled in with 3 cwt. per acre of 
superphosphate of lime, and fed off by sheep. In consequence of the 
applications of good dressings of farm-yard manure, of the artifi- 
cials used for the turnip crop, and of the feeding off the swedes by 
sheep, with corn being given to them at the same time, the soil 
seems to have been in excellent agricultural condition. Neither ni- 
trate of soda nor sulphate of ammonia produced any effect on the 
clover; and that appears to indicate either that the land must have 
been in an excellent agricultural condition, as I believe it was, or 
that the clover plant is not benefited by nitrogenous manures. On 
this latter point we have no conclusive evidence. I have been ex- 
tremely anxious to ascertain under what circumstances, if any, am- 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 647 

moniacal salts, or nitrogenous organic substances, or nitrates, bene- 
fit the leguminous tribes of plants. Some years ago I made some 
experiments which seemed to indicate that nitrogenous manures 
have no beneficial effect on the clover tribes, and probably none 
either on other leguminous plants. At any rate, I could never see 
where sulphate of ammonia had been applied to clover, nor could I 
notice any beneficial result from the application of ammoniacal salts 
to peas and beans; whereas I could perceive minutely the effects of 
nitrogenous manures when they had been applied to wheat or bar- 
ley, or any of the graminaceous family of plants. I was anxious, 
therefore, to ascertain whether nitrogenous manures have any effect 
on clover. In the experiments which were conducted by Mr. Kim- 
ber, at Tabney Warren, near Abingdon, the nitrate of soda and the 
sulphate of ammonia had no beneficial effect whatever on the clover. 
At the present time the Scientific Committee of the Horticultural 
Society is engaged in making experiments on special plants. 
Amongst these are several varieties of clover on which we intend to 
try the effect of ammoniacal salts alone, and of various mixtures, 
and I hope the result will be to bring out some useful information 
on the subject. It is sometimes difficult to conduct experiments on 
a large scale with sufficient scientific precision ; I therefore strongly 
recommend the Committee of the Horticultural Society to institute 
some experiments in boxes. A number of boxes are now set out at 
Chiswick, and I hope that on a future occasion I shall be able to 
give you the results of the observations which we are making there 
with respect to the peculiar action of some special fertilizing agents, 
such as potash and nitrate of soda. So much, then, with regard to 
the field investigations which occupied so much of my attention dur- 
ing the last season. In close connection with these field experi- 
ments I have undertaken to investigate the causes of the benefits 
which result from growing clover as a preparatory crop for wheat. 
It is well known to most practical farmers that if they can succeed 
in growing a good crop ol clover they are almost certain to get a 
good paying crop of wheat. You see how all agricultural matters 
depend upon each other. If we can by chemical means enable the 
Farmer, on land which otherwise would not grow clover, to produce 
a good crop of clover, we shall thus place him in the very best posi- 
tion for afterwards obtaining paying crops of corn. I have come to 
the conclusion that the very best preparation, the very best ma- 
nure, if you will allow me thus to express myself, is a good crop of 
clover. Now, at first sight nothing seems more contradictory than 
to say that you can remove a very large quantity of both mineral 



648 THE SOUTHERN [November 

and organic food from the soil, and yet make it more productive, as 
in the case of clover. Nevertheless it is a fact, that the larger the 
amount of mineral matter you remove in a crop of clover, and the 
larger the amount of nitrogen which is carried off in clover hay, the 
richer the land becomes. Now here is really a strange chemical 
anomaly which cannot be discarded, and invites our investigation ; 
and it is an investigation which has occupied my attention, I may 
say, for more than ten years. I first took it up in my leisure hours 
when I lived at Cirencester. In the paper which I published in 
the Journal last year, you will find analyses of clover roots and 
clover soils on the College Farm at Cirencester. Chemists are 
much in the same position as painters ; we cannot finish a work off- 
hand at once ; we take up a thing and then leave it for a time. We 
then take it up again ; just as the opportunity occurs to add to our 
experience, we take up new matter and make it the subject of in- 
vestigation. Now this clover investigation has very much interested 
me for a great number of years ; but only during the last season 
have I been able to bring it to anything like completion, so as tho- 
roughly to explain the strange anomaly that is presented to us in 
the growth of clover as a preparatory crop for wheat. The expla- 
nation is very simple, though puzzling when you know not the 
chemical points that are involved in the investigation. I cannot 
deny myself the gratification of showing to you, in a few figures, 
that, in a thorough chemical point of view, clover is the most ex- 
hausting crop that you can possibly grow, whilst in a thorough 
practical point of view, it is the most restorative crop, and the best 
preparation for wheat that you can possibly grow. Now if we ex- 
amine what is taken from the land in the shape of clover, we shall 
find that, assuming an acre of land to yield four tons of clover bay, 
these four tons of clover hay will remove 672 lbs. of mineral consti- 
tuents, and not less than 224 lbs. of nitrogen, which is equal to 272 
lbs. of ammonia. Four tons of clover hay, the produce of one 
acre, must contain a large amount of nitrogen, and remove from the 
soil an enormous quantity of mineral matters abounding in lime, 
potash, and also much phosphoric acid. Now, comparing what is 
removed by a crop of wheat, we find that, in a clover crop, we re- 
move fully three times as much of mineral matter, and a great deal 
more, six times as much, I believe, of nitrogen, as we do in a crop 
of wheat. The total amount, to give the exact figures, of mineral 
matters removed in an average crop of wheat amounts to 175 lbs. 
an acre ; that is, taking in both the grain and the straw, the total 
amount of nitrogen removed in the grain of wheat amounts to only 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 649 



26.7 lbs. per acre (not quite 27 lbs.), and in the straw of wheat 19.2 
lbs.; or in both together 46 lbs. of nitrogen, which is only about 
one-fifth of the nitrogen contained in the produce of an acre of clo- 
ver. We should, therefore, naturally expect that clover, which re- 
moves so much more nitrogen from the soil, would be greatly bene- 
fited by the application of nitrogenous manures ; but the reverse is 
the case. Wheat, it is well known, is benefited by the application 
of nitrogenous matters, but not clover. On the other hand, clover 
is benefited by mineral manures ; and at the same time it leaves the 
land even in a better condition in this respect for the succeeding 
corn crop than it is without the intervention of clover. I believe a 
vast amount of mineral manure is brought within reach of the corn 
crop by growing clover. It is rendered available to the roots of 
the corn crop, while otherwise it would remain in a locked-up con- 
dition in the soil, if no recourse were had to the introduction of the 
clover crop. Clover, by means of its long roots, penetrates a large 
mass of soil. It gathers up, so to speak, the phosphoric acid and 
the potash which are disseminated throughout a large portion of the 
soil ; and when the land is ploughed the roots are left in the sur- 
face, and in decaying they leave in an available condition the mine- 
ral substances which the wheat plant requires to enable it to grow. 
Although in clover hay these mineral matters are removed in great 
quantity, yet the store of mineral food that we have in six or twelve 
inches of soil is so great that it is utterly insignificant in compari- 
son with what remains ; in other words, the quantity of mineral 
matter which is rendered available and fit for the use of the suc- 
ceeding corn crop is very much larger than the quantity which is 
removed in the clover hay. But the accumulation of nitrogen after 
the growth of clover in the soil is extremely large. Even when the 
clover crop is insignificant a large quantity of nitrogen amounting 
to tons is accumulated in the surface soil, and the better the clover 
crop the greater is the accumulation of nitrogen. In one of my 
experiments I tried to determine the amount of nitrogen which is 
left in the portion of the field where the clover was, comparatively 
speaking, poor, and I found that on the brow of the hill in that 
field, for it had a considerable declivity, the clover was weak, the 
produce to an acre being 1 ton, 11 cwt., 99 lbs.; whilst at the bot- 
tom of the hill, where the clover was stronger, there being more 
soil, it was 2 tons, 2 cwt., 61 lbs. Observe, too, that at the bottom 
of the field the wheat was always better. Now, it is in virtue, I 
believe, of this accumulation of nitrogen that the wheat grew so 
much more luxuriantly. I had another experiment tried two sea- 



650 THE SOUTHERN [November 

sons ago upon land on which clover grew tolerably well. The ex- 
periments to which I refer were tried at Leighton Buzzard, upon 
the farm of Mr. Robert Valentine. We had a capital field of clover, 
and I thought I should have a good opportunity of ascertaining 
whether there was more nitrogen accumulated in the soil after the 
clover crop was cut twice, or whether more was accumulated when 
the clover was mown once, and then allowed to run to seed. At 
first sight you would think that the land was in a worse condition 
when the crop is grown for seed. We know, indeed, that this is 
generally the case; but in the case of clover we have a remarkable 
exception to this rule ; and I find, on looking into this matter, that, 
after growing clover for seed, a very much larger quantity of nitro- 
gen remains in the surface soil, in the first six inches of soil as well 
as in the second six inches, than when the clover is mown twice. I 
have ascertained that when you feed off clover by sheep, when it is 
still young, and everything is returned to it as it is removed from 
it, the land is in a worse condition than when you take off the clover 
hay. This is an anomaly. You say it is against all principle and 
against all reason. But when you see positive evidence in our 
fields, I think no scientific man has a right to say that it is against 
all reason and against all principle. It is certainly not against 
fact. All who are practically acquainted with the subject must 
have seen that wheat invariably grows less luxuriantly when you 
feed it off quite young, and that the best crop of wheat is produced 
when you grow clover for seed. I have repeatedly and repeatedly 
seen it. Now, if I had been always shut up in my laboratory, I 
should never have seen it or investigated it. I should have followed 
in the track of those scientific men who so frequently turn up their 
noses at anything they cannot understand, or that they think un- 
scientific. Therefore, the men who make the practical experiments 
must be wrong; and they must be right. Now, I think this is a 
proceeding which cannot be commended. When we see a plain 
matter of fact, our simple business is to investigate it carefully and 
conscientiously. Then we shall find frequently, as I have found in 
other departments of chemical investigations — I allude to my inves- 
tigations in farm-yard manure— that a practice which is at first 
sight contrary to all theory, at least with what we call theory, but 
not against true science, on being investigated, is found to agree 
perfectly with the established observations of good agriculturists, 
and that there are really good causes which fully explain apparent 
anomalies which sometimes are very puzzling. Referring to those 
clover investigations, I would just give you the total amount of ni- 



I860.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 651 



trogen which I found in different layers of soil in the same field, 
and upon one-half of which the clover was mown twice, and upon 
the second half of which the clover was mown only once, and then 
left for seed. The percentage of nitrogen in the clover soil twice 
mowed for the first six inches amounted to .168; in the second six 
inches to .092; and in the third six inches to .064. Thus you see 
that it becomes very much less the deeper you go down. The ac- 
cumulation takes place chiefly in the surface soil, and I believe it is 
principally due to the dropping of the leaves. When we grow clover 
for seed those leaves continually drop and enrich the surface soil ; 
and if it be the case, which I think is likely, that the clover tribe 
of plants is satisfied with the ammonia which exists in the atmos- 
phere, we can at once account for the accumulation of nitrogen in 
the soil. The clover plants take the nitrogen from the atmosphere 
and manufacture it into their own substance, which, on decomposi- 
tion of the clover roots and leaves, produces abundance of ammonia. 
In reality, the growing of clover is equivalent, to a great extent, to 
manuring with Peruvian guano ; and in this paper of mine I show 
that you obtain a larger quantity of manure than in the largest dose 
of Peruvian guano which a farmer would ever think of applying; 
that there is a larger amount of nitrogen accumulated in the first 
six or twelve inches of soil than there is in the heaviest dose of Pe- 
ruvian guano that any person would think of using. On clover soil 
once mown and left for seed, I found in the three layers of soil a 
larger percentage of nitrogen than where the clover was mown 
twice. In the first six inches it was .189 ; in the next six inches 
.134 ; and in the lowest six inches .089. Now the total quantity of 
nitrogen calculated per acre for 12 inches of soil amounted on that 
portion of the field mown twice for clover, to 5,249J lbs.; whereas 
the total amount of nitrogen in 12 inches of soil on that portion of 
the field which was mown only once and then left to stand for seed, 
was 8,1 "26 J lbs.; thus producing an excess of nitrogen on an acre of 
soil 12 inches deep, calculated as ammonia on the part of the field 
mown once, and then seeded, amounting to 3,592 lbs. A very large 
quantity of nitrogen was accumulated when the clover was left for 
seed ; and the total amount of large clover roots was much greater 
in the part where the clover was grown for seed ; for the longer it 
is left in the soil the more the roots extend. In the different layers 
of the soil, also, in every instance more nitrogen was found where 
the clover was left for seed than where it was twice mown. There 
was, as just mentioned, upon one acre 3,592 lbs. more ammonia in 
the land where the clover seed was grown than on the other portion 



652 THE SOUTHER* [November 



where the clover was made entirety into haj. The chemical points 
brought forward in the course of this inquiry show plainly that mere 
speculations as to what can take place in the soil, and what cannot, 
do not much advance the true theory of certain agricultural prac- 
tices. I would just mention that it is only by carefully investiga- 
ting subjects like the one under consideration that positive proofs are 
given showing the correctness of intelligent observers in the field. 
I have frequently been struck with the remarkably luxuriant ap- 
pearance of wheat after a heavy crop of clover has been removed 
from the land. I at first doubted it ; but at last I was obliged to 
confess that it invariably follows when you get a good crop of clo- 
ver that you also get a good crop of wheat. An enormous amount 
of nitrogenous organic matter is left in the land after the removal 
of the clover crop, and this gradually decays and furnishes ammo- 
nia, which, at first, during the colder months of the year, is retained 
by the well known absorbing properties which all good wheat soils 
possess. An investigation which I have now in hand, however, 
shows me that the ammoniacal salts in the soil are rapidly trans- 
formed into nitrates. Gradually, the oxidation of the ammoniacal 
salts which are produced from the decomposition of the clover roots 
takes place, and nitrates are eliminated; but the benefit that we 
derive from the growth of clover is very much greater than the 
benefit that we can derive from the direct application of nitrate of 
soda, because if we use nitrate of soda, we must just hit upon the 
right point when it will be beneficial to the growing crop. If there 
is not sufficient rain or water to wash the nitrate of soda into the 
soil, it does no good, but rather may do harm by burning up the 
land. If there is too much rain, it may pass into the drains. Ni- 
trate of soda is not retained by the land — not even by clay soils. 
It passes through them as through a sieve ; therefore, it is the most 
precarious kind of manure that you can use. It is well if you can 
hit upon the right time; and this you must find out for yourselves. 
By observation you will find out the right time in the particular lo- 
cality where you are placed. You may go wrong once, but for a 
number of years you will generally hit upon the right time. Speak- 
ing generally, I would say that about the middle of February, in 
most localities, is the right time for the application of nitrate of 
soda ; but, useful as nitrate of soda may be in some special cases, I 
think the less you use it on poor soils the better. I should like 
more indirectly to accumulate nitrogen on my land, and not go to 
any great expense in buying nitrate of soda when my land is in 
poor condition. It is well if you have very good land, but under 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 653 

ordinary circumstances it is perhaps better not to rely upon this 
source of supply. Nitrate of soda may readily be washed out : but 
you will notice that the benefit that you obtain from clover roots is, 
that you have a continuous source from which nitrates can be pro- 
duced. It does not matter if some of the nitrates pass away in the 
drain ; you have an enormous accumulation of decaying organic 
matter. The clover roots and leaves are not all at once changed 
into ammonia ; but there is a gradual transformation of the organic 
matter, first, into ammoniacal salts, and a gradual change from am- 
moniacal salts into nitrates, and you have a complete series of chem- 
ical transformations which is highly conducive to the gradual de- 
velopment of the plant. Whereas, by using nitrate of soda, you 
run the risk of getting it washed away into your drains. Thus, 
there is more certainty of growing a good crop of wheat through the 
instrumentality of clover than through the direct supply of the ni- 
trate of soda. These, then, are the chief points which have been 
established, I believe, by my chemical experiments in the laboratory 
with respect to the chemical history of the clover crop. — Journal 
N. Y. State Agricultural Society. 



Carbolic Acid. — A Paris correspondent of the Rural World 
says: A disinfectant, which, from the newness of its employment 
may be called a fresh discovery, is rapidly coming into favor, to the 
exclusion of the chloride of lime. This new agent is carbolic acid, 
or impure phenic acid. Chloride of lime has not only an insup- 
portable odor, but rapidly absorbs the humidity of the atmosphere, 
losing thereby part of its efficacy — nay, more, it provokes cough- 
ing, and reacts on the respiratory organs. In well-ventilated out- 
offices, the matter is not serious, but in buildings, where animals are 
"cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd," the use of chloride of lime becomes 
grave. Carbolic acid, on the contrary, presents none of these ob- 
jections, and it is cheaper ; it may be combined with lime, and used 
either in the form of a powder, or as white-wash — the latter is the 
best, and has the peculiar effect of chasing away insects. A good 
way to prepare it is, to add to twenty pounds of quick lime about 
three pounds of the acid — which costs about twelve sous a pound — 
when a pale, rose-colored powder results. To make the white-wash 
it is best to add a pint of water, immediately after employing the 
acid, pouring more water till the necessary consistency is attained. 
I may remark that this acid forms a ''perfect cure" for the bites of 
venomous animals. Dissolve it in double its own weight of spirits 
of wine, and add one hundred parts of water. — Metropolitan 
Record. 



654 THE SOUTHREN [November 

Hints on Horse Flesh. 

BY DR. LEMERCIER. 

As five years are required for the completion of the bone struc- 
ture of the horse, it is important that he be carefully used until 
that age. If he is early over- worked, the ligaments which unite 
his one hundred and thirty bones are prevented from becoming suf- 
ficiently fixed to the frame, and he is dwarfed, and wears out or dies 
long before reaching the full twenty-five years which should be the 
average duration of his life and vigor. The muscles of a fine horse 
ought to be thick and very long; thickness ensures strength, and 
length an extended sweep of limb. 

Properly constructed harness is as essential to the comfort of a 
horse as easy clothes are necessary to the comfort of a man. If 
harness is not well fitted to the form, the veins are compressed, cir- 
culation is retarded, and disease ensues. When in motion, the 
horse regulates his centre of gravity by using his head and neck. 
The check-rein is therefore inhuman and injurious. 

If a horse is compelled to run when his head is held in a vertical 
position, the gravity is thrown too far back, and he advances with 
difficulty. The ears may be called indices of a horse's mind. In- 
telligent animals prick up their ears when spoken to — vicious ones 
throw their ears back. A blind horse directs one ear forward and 
one backward, and in a deaf horse the ears are without expression. 

The ears of the horse are short and wide apart, the eyes are well 
open, and the forehead is broad. A broad forehead indicates good 
brain. The Arab says : " The horse must have the flat forehead, 
and the courage of a bull." The horse breathes by his nose and 
not by his mouth ; hence the nostrils should be large, so the fresh 
air may be taken freely. Dealers enlarge the nostrils of their 
horses by artificial means. The mouth of a young horse is round ; 
in age it becomes narrow and elongated. 

The Arab says, in speaking of his horse : " The first seven years 
are for my young brother, the next seven for myself, and the last 
for my enemy." 

A horse has only one jugular vein, a man has three. The 
withers can never be too high ; the higher they are the easier the 
animal travels. The loins should be short, the chest square, and 
the shoulders well developed. The veterinary surgeon who said, 
" no foot, no horse," was perfectly correct. The hoof is a curious 
and complicated mechanism ; an elastic box, which expands and 
contracts as the horse raises or puts down the foot. Shoeing should 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 655 



be done with care and skill, or the natural form of the hoof is de- 
stroyed. Above all, so noble an animal should be treated with the 
greatest kindness, and no pains should be spared to make his bonds 
as easy to wear as may be. — Southern Agriculturist. 



Lotion foe Cutaneous Irritation. — Editors Country Gentle- 
man: I am much indebted to Prof. Liautard, of the New York 
College of Veterinary Surgeons, for the following : 

6 fluid ounces water, 

2 fluid ounces glycerine, 
40 drops carbolic acid, 
as a lotion for cutaneous irritation on horses, scurfiness, &c. If 
applied with a small sponge to the roots of the hair of mane and 
tail, dampening the skin thoroughly, it brings away the dandruff in 
a surprising way, and allays itching, which often causes horses to 
disfigure their manes and tails by cubbing. The glycerine keeps 
the skin soft and retains the carbolic acid much longer, by prevent- 
ing evaporation, than when the acid is used in water only. A half 
pound bottle can be bought in New York for 80 cents. When 
wanted the bottle is immersed in warm (not hot) water, for 10 sec- 
onds and a sufficient quantity is liquefied for use. It is an excel- 
lent remedy for wounds. — T. J. H., in Cultivator and Country 
Gentleman. 



. Bots in Horses. 

BY DR. WM. ABRAM LOVE, ALBANY, GA. 

My attention was first called to the subject of bots in the year 
1846. A very valuable horse belonging to a friend, was suddenly 
taken sick, and, as at that "bloody age," everything that sickened 
must be bled — man or beast — the knife was popped into the mouth — 
he bled profusely, and the bleeding could not be stopped. Being 
on the premises, I was requested to arrest the hemorrhage. On 
examination, I *found the palatine artery opened, and the flow was 
arrested with some difficulty. Soon the horse died, and, to satisfy 
myself as to the cause of his death, made a post mortem — found 
over half the mucous membrane of the stomach destroyed, the other 
portion highly inflamed, with here and there patches of grubs or 
bots firmly fastened to the membrane, sometimes forty or fifty on a 
place — other and smaller ones were mixed with the contents of the 
stomach, and scattered with the same in the cavity (peritoneal) out- 



656 THE SOUTHERN [November 

side the bowels. They had passed through a rupture in the walls, 
evidently caused by the distention, the injured part giving way 
(possibly after death), from the accumulation of gas fermentation 
having been very rapid. This accounted for the death of the horse. 
The bots were then collected in a vessel and series of experiments 
instituted, to ascertain, if possible, what would destroy them, without 
destroying the horse ; tried innumerable drugs without producing 
the least effect. They were then subjected to more severe tests, in 
nitric, sulphuric, muriatic and acetic acids, in turpentine, decoction 
of tobacco, and in various tinctures they lived astonishingly. These 
experiments satisfied me that there was no chance to destroy them 
with such remedies, without the remedies first destroying the 
horse. 

I observed that they seemed to relish syrup or sweetened water, 
and that green vegetable juices of any kind seemed to sicken them, 
making them lie dormant for hours. Some would eat the vegeta- 
ble juices sweetened, and then remain dormant, the same as when 
immersed in them. I used up all my subjects and this was all the 
information gained. This much, however, suggested an idea, which 
was afterwards, by experiment and observation, found to be correct. 
By feeding the horse on green vegetable matter, as corn, millet, 
wheat, rye, oats, or peas, until his bowels become a little affected, and 
then giving him a purge of Glauber or Epsom salts, he would dis- 
charge the grubs if there are any in him. For years, I have every 
Spring pursued this course, even until the present time, and though 
living behind horses for over a quarter of a century, under this 
plan of treatment, have never lost one from bots. 

The next post mortem made, was in a horse that had been more 
or less, severely, for several days, perhaps for weeks, showing 
symptoms of bots, of colic, &c. In this case, as in the other, found 
the grubs, but not in such numbers, there being only thirty-seven 
in the stomach, (the bowels were not examined.) These seemed to 
have been at work longer ; some had penetrated deeper, some 
were entirely covered with their mouths on a level with a mucous 
surface, whilst others had burrowed between the coat of the 
stomach for two, three, five, and as far as eleven inches. Two 
had thus passed entirely through and were attached to the 
outside (peritioneal), coat of the bowels, the places, through 
which they had passed, being distinctly traceable by the 
lines of inflammation, showing that they, too, had burrowed between 
the coats from inside to outside. The openings thus made by their 
exit, were closed by plastic lymph, as well as by the valvular ar- 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 657 



rangements of the coats, when this viscus was distended. Had they 
passed directly through, the case would have been more rapidly 
fatal, by the passage of the contents of the stomach into the out- 
side (peritoneal) cavity, which is always fatal ; here it was noticed, 
for the first time, that the grubs traveled, or penetrated tail fore- 
most. They were attached to the mucous membrane by the tail, 
their mouths dipping into the contents of the stomach ; this brought 
up another subject of investigation. They were placed under the 
microscope, and dissected. In the tail, centrally, is placed a lance 
shaped piercer, which, by an internal arrangement of muscles, can 
be protruded or retracted at pleasure, as in the sting of an insect. 
On either side of this lance shaped piercer there is found a curve 
grapple, (so to speak), having the same muscular attachments, but 
by muscular contraction the points are thrown outwards, describing 
the segments of a circle, having for their starting point, the point 
of the piercers, thence towards the head. When the piercer is re- 
tracted, the points of all three are about on a line. With the 
points of the grapples the coats of the stomach are hooked up — by 
muscular contraction they are thrust into it, laterally; while the 
piercer penetrates in the line of the axis of the body of the grub. 
On the body, in regular order, is arranged a series of grapples of 
the same shape, very sharp at their points. They extend in con- 
secutive rings nearly around the body, and so arranged that, com- 
mencing with the lateral grapples, they can lift what they catch 
toward the head and hook it on, or place it within reach of the 
grapples of the next row above, and so on, until the whole body of 
the grub has marked its way into the tissues. In this position, by 
the irritating motion of these grapples, (which are very hard and 
horn like) the grubs generate pus, upon which they may prefer to 
subsist while entering what may be termed their chrysalis state, or 
when they have arrived at or near maturity, and are about to 
change into the perfect fly. 

From this examination, I was satisfied that they will 'penetrate th e 
stomach — that they will not eat into it, but penerate by means of the 
piercer, and successive rows of grapples, as mentioned above. In 
other post mortems, similar conditions have been found to exist, but 
no remedies could be suggested further than those mentioned be. 
fore for the destruction of the grubs. 

Some time after this, I attempted to quiet an angry swarm of 

bees by slipping under the gum a sponge containing something over 

half an ounce of chloroform and succeeded admirably. When they 

had become quiet, I removed what honey could be spared from 

vol. in — 42 



658 THE SOUTHERN [November 

their stores and left them all quiet. They are quiet still, for the 
chloroform had killed the last bee. 

It is useless to say anything about the multitude of experiments 
instituted on bees, bugs, butterflies and beetles, to ascertain how 
much chloroform a hive of bees could take with impunity. 

These experiments convinced me that a very little, however, 
would kill any specimen of insects found in this country, and such 
being the case, it was very natural to conclude that, if half an 
ounce of chloroform would kill a swarm of bees it would as 
certainly kill a swarm of bo's, and I determined when an 
opportunity served, to try it. I had given over an ounce to a 
horse, by the stomach, with a very happy effect, for colic, and 
felt that here might be found the long sought grub poison. Soon 
an opportunity presented in the case of a mule ; gave one ounce 
chloroform in one pint of syrup, with half a pint of water. In 
a short time, he seemed easy and got up. Directed, at the end 
of two or three hours, a heavy dose of salts. Within twenty-four 
hours he discharged between three and four hundred bots, every one 
as dead as my angry bees. Since that time I have invariably used 
chloroform in such cases, and always with success, when used in 
time. It will not sow up and heal up in a ruptured stomach, nor 
will it cure one, but it will kill grubs as surely as it will kill bees. 

There is sometimes some difficulty in distinguishing bots from 
colic and other acute suffering ; the horse discovers to you that he 
is in pain in either case. With colic, he is more or less swollen, 
from the spasms of the bowels not moving forward the accumulated 
gases, yet there are few cases of grubs in which this condition of 
things does not follow sooner or later as a necessary sequence of 
the destruction of digestion, from the condition of the stomach, 
produced by the irritation of the grubs. Still, in the treatment, 
there is no very material difference, as chloroform, by its antispas- 
modic powers, will relieve colic equally well, and is, without excep- 
tion, the best remedy. Knowing these things, I, many years since 
.advised my neighbors and friends to its use, and many of them have 
.-availed themselves of it with entire satisfaction. Through some of 
fthem some years since, the recommendation reached the press, but 
such things are but little attended to, and no confidence is placed in 
them, inasmuch as no reason is assigned for the treatment, and, in 
the majority of cases, no one is responsible for the suggestion made; 
, they are the mere on dits of the press, and are so received. 

To answer all, or most of the indications in the majority of cases 
, of supposed grubs or colic, the following compound will be found 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER 659 

effectual as a general prescription, and farmers and stock owners, 
who keep a supply of the medicines on hand for emergencies, will 
have no occasion to regret it, as by its timely use, they may save 
many valuable horses and mules during a season. 

Take of chloroform one ounce, laudanum one ounce, tincture of 
Assafcetida, one ounce — mix. Give it in a pint and a half, or a quart 
of thin syrup, well shaken together. When the horse will eat or drink, 
give him gruel freely, and follow the dose, in a few hours, with a brisk 
cathartic of salts. Glauber salts (sulph. soda) is, perhaps, the best, 
from its anti-acid and anti-septic properties, though Epsom salts, 
or any other convenient cathartic will answer the purpose, the ob- 
ject being to remove the destroyed grubs, preventing lodgment in 
the valves of the bowels, where they would produce irritation and 
inflammation. The saline cathartics answer, as a general rule, a 
better purpose, as they are febrifuge and reduce the irritation and 
febrile action in the stomach, bowels and general system. 

Some writers contend that grubs do no harm to horses, within 
certain periods of their existence; this is true, but, there is a time 
when they are seriously detrimental, if not certainly fatal. By 
following them through one generation that time may be seen to 
the satisfaction of the most skeptical. Like most of the insect 
tribe, they have four distinct stages of existence — the egg, the 
grub, the chrysalis and the perfect fly. 

The grub fly, or (as it is known in the South) nit fly, deposits its 
eggs, by preference, under the chin of the horse, but being defeated 
in this by the instinctive restlessness of the animal, it glues them 
to the hair on the fore legs or breast, or on the mane. Sooner or 
later, by the greater or less heat of the body of the animal, the 
larvse are hatched, when they start immediately in search of food — 
(this larvae, though very minute, is but a diminutive grub, armed 
with a piercer in the tail — the two lateral curved and pointed grap- 
ples, with the successive rings of the same kind as described above, 
all perfect.) Fastening or hooking these into the hair, they travel 
backivards, (as do some other species of grubs,) until they reach 
the skin of the animal. Their efforts to penetrate this produces an 
itching sensation ; the horse scratches them off with the upper 
teeth— they are caught on the lips, to the mucous-membrane of 
which they fasten themselves and feed on the mucous secretions ; 
otherwise they perish. Becoming mixed with the food, they are 
conveyed into the stomach. Here they subsist on the gastric juice, 
(chylopoetic and pancreatic fluids, and mucous secretions, until they 
are full grown grubs, or reach the age of maturity. Up to this 



660 THE SOUTHERN [November 

period, they do not materially interfere with the health or comfort 
of the horse, insomuch as they are well supplied with food from the 
contents of the stomach and the visceral secretions. But when 
they have reached this mature age, they cease to feed and 
cease to grow, and, like grubs or worms of other insects — 
as the silk worm, the grass worm, and the various other moth bee- 
tles and fly tribes — become dormant after fastening themselves, and 
enter the chrysalid stage — so to speak — preparatory to coming out 
perfect flies. Just at this stage they become dangerous. It is as 
natural for them to fix or bury themselves when they have finished 
feeding and are going into their dormant state, as it is for the silk 
worm to spin its cocoon, the cotton worm to wind itself in a leaf, or 
the grass worm to bury itself in the earth, or beneath some object, 
where, undisturbed, it can pass the chrysalis state and come out in 
its perfect state a moth. It is not in feeding, (though the grub is 
carnivorous,) but in seeking this resting place, this grave, as it were, 
that they injure the stomach. 

By an instinctive common consent, all of mature age, at the same 
time, go about this work ; by collecting into colonies and fastening 
themselves close together, they mutually aid each other in the work 
of penetrating the stomach or other tissues. The younger grubs, 
hatched from a different deposit of eggs, do not join with those of 
mature age, but bide their time. When this fixing or burrowing 
commences, the horse gives signs of pain, and, if their work goes 
on, it will surely prove fatal, sooner or later, as the grubs may be 
in greater or less numbers. Should there be but few, and the ani- 
mal be able to withstand them, after a given period they hatch — a 
wingless gad fly is the product. This, passes with the defecated 
foecal matter, when, by exposure to the air and the solar rays, its 
wings are rapidly produced, as in the horse and other flies. The 
perfect gad-fly is thus generated, male and female. In this stage 
they copulate, after which the male dies, and the female goes on 
her work 0/ depositing her eggs, from two to three hundred or 
more, instinctively seeking a place where the larvae can be nour- 
ished with proper food. 

Thus tracing the history of one generation, which is the history 
of every generation, we readily see why some have concluded that 
bots do no harm. They have been found in horses dying from other 
causes, or killed in good health, where no signs of injury by them 
could be detected. They had not reached, in such cases, that age 
when they were about to change to the chrysalis stage, for it is 
here and here only, that they are injurious to any material extent. 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 661 

When they are fastening themselves, or burying themselves, to 
change to the perfect fly, they do their evil work, but failing to 
fasten, they pass off doing no injury. They live on animal fluid ; 
are fond of the sweet taste of pus. When the eggs are deposited 
on the cow, the larvae sometimes burrow into the punctures made by 
the black cow fly. In this position, still working tail foremost, 
they, from the irritation produced by the motion of their sharp 
grapples, generate pus, more than enough, at times, for their own 
consumption, and it terminates apparently in a boil. From this 
they hatch the perfect fly. In the rabbit the larvae are able to 
penetrate the tender skin, where, in the same manner, they gene- 
rate their own food by irritation. In the nostrils of sheep they are 
also very troublesome,and their work is sometimes mistaken for dis- 
temper, &c. Naturalists claim that these are all different species of 
oestrus. Be that as it may, their habits, their form, their anatomy, 
and their natural histories, are the same with this difference: that 
one gains admission into the natural cavity, whilst the other finds 
or makes an artificial one. 

The writer has known one case where the larvae made its way 
into the face of a man, (perhaps entering through the excretory 
orifice, or duct of a sebaceous gland,) producing irritation, which 
was at first supposed to be a carbuncle. The man contended very 
strenuously that there was " something alive in it." This partook 
so much of the character of Voodooism, (as we find it in these latter 
days,) that it was treated as a joke, until medical aid was called, 
when an incision revealed a nearly full grown "wolfe" — a regula r 
glad-Jig grub. 

Whether, in this case, the fly deposited its eggs on the whiskers, 
or the man, in working with his horses, accidentally had the larvae 
transferred to his face, was a question not to be decided. It was 
on the right lower jaw, and was very painful. 

This much on the subject of bots. These observations, many of 
them, were made nearly one-fourth of a century since, and the conclu- 
sions drawn apace with them. The writer has seen no reason to 
change his opinions here expressed, after over twenty years' inves- 
tigation. If they are worth the attention of your readers, and any 
should chance to profit by them, he will be amply repaid for the 
little time spent in throwing them thus loosely together for the ben- 
efit of the curious or the interested. — Southern Cultivator. 



He that observeth the wind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth 
the clouds shall not reap. 



662 THE SOUTHERN [November 

Pigs— Their Rearing and Fattening. 

Every animal likes comfort, and pigs like comfort just as much 
as any other animal does, and they thrive on it. To secure this 
comfort a convenient piggery must be erected ; long narrow houses 
suit best, with yards opening on; and those yards must be flagged, 
having the feeding troughs at the ends with weather roofs to pro- 
tect the food and the pigs from excess of weather. Again, the 
troughs must have louvre boards that revolve easily, so as to allow 
the food to be placed in the troughs from the outside of the yard, 
and to prevent the pigs from seeing it during the time it remains in 
them for cooling or mixing, and also to protect the troughs from 
the inroads of other animals at times when they are empty. When 
feeding time has arrived, the louvre boards should be shut, to secure 
quiet to the pigs. When the feeding is over they should be raised 
to allow the troughs to be cleaned out. The troughs had better 
stand six inches from the ground, and they should rest on solid ma- 
sonry, and be of cast iron. Troughs made to stand on legs allow- 
ing crevices between, are nothing but a polite invitation to rats and 
mice to take up their habitation under them. The yards of the pig- 
geries are best open, and care must be taken to grade them so that 
all water may flow to the centre and thence off to the main drain or 
overflow of the barn-yard. The houses ought to stand eight feet in 
the clear on the inside, and about eight feet more from the flooring 
of the lofts to the pitch of the roofs. The lofts insure warmth in 
severe weather when they contain the winter's bedding, and cool- 
ness in summer, as they keep off the direct rays of the sun. With- 
ered leaves, dried ferns, and coarse hay or straw not excellent 
enough for feeding purposes, should constitute litter for all animals ; 
pigs particularly enjoy a bed of dry leaves as they nestle in them, 
and the bed is still more grateful if it have a few inches of fine sand 
underlaying it, thus keeping the animals drier than otherwise they 
could be, and also protecting them from the stone floors. 

The piggery should be divided into several compartments, sepa- 
rated as to the yards, with strong railings with wicket doors in them 
to permit any communication for cleaning. 

Not only must every breed be kept separate, but all ages get on 
best when only allowed to associate with those of their own stand- 
ing. Two boars, even of tender age, cannot remain in one stye ; 
no more can two sows that have bred dwell together in peace, and 
sucking pigs should have free room to run about in proximity to 
the mother, unmolested by other ages. Store pigs and fattening 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 663 

pigs must live apart. The former require more freedom and a 
wider range, as, if pent up, instead of growing they will fatten, and 
the latter, if not kept close, will take longer time preparing for the 
butcher/ Twice in the day is sufficient to feed^ store pigs, and three 
times will suffice for fattening pigs. Sucking pigs, when first 
weaned, should have abundance of nourishing drink, and should 
get small quantities of cooked roots several times in the day for at 
least ten days after being taken from the mother. Hot food is 
highly injurious to all pigs. Warm sloppy drinks of bran water are 
better than those made with cold water, but they cannot constitute 
daily food except for nursing sows. 

When the sow is first pregnant she may feed and range largely, 
but as she comes near to farrow she had better be kept more quiet, 
and her food must be nourishing but not fattening. For three to 
five days after the birth of the young, she should have tepid bran 
drinks, and cooked roots sparingly added to them four or five times 
in the twenty-four hours, and it will be necessary to watch her for 
some time lest she overlie her young, and to provide her with a soft 
bed, not too deep, as the young pigs love to cover themselves in the 
litter, and are thus very liable to come to harm. 

The black Essex are a thrifty breed, easily kept and easily fat- 
tened. They require cleanly food and warmth. Having that they 
prosper. They are wonderful rooters, and if allowed the run of 
stubble during the Autumn months, they appear in good order as 
stores in the first days of November. 

The Berkshire are a good breed for those who have high-situated 
farms. They are more hardy than the Essex, but they do not take 
equal condition with them. Some white breeds are excellent for 
size and fineness of meat, but none surpass the true Essex. 

Pigs must never really run 'out of flesh. If they do, sad indeed 
is it for their owner's pocket; but it is a bad speculation to keep 
pigs, unless the farm, the dairy and the kitchen garden supply them 
liberally. Buying mill produce cannot pay. When the farmer 
has to buy for his pigs the sooner he sells them the better. — N. Y. 
Times. 



Book Farming. 

Those who are opposed to book farming are requested to read the 
following and give us their opinion : 

There was a farmer once who hesitated not to hurl all manner of 
invectives against book farming, and those who consulted books for 



664: THE SOUTHERN [November 

advice. By long experience and practical information he had be- 
come quite successful in the culture of grapes and trees. His fields 
were clean and fair, and highly productive. His trees were vigor- 
ous, well adjusted and profitable. 

In conversation with a friend he related his experience in raising 
grapes and trees, entering into the minutest details, sometimes be- 
coming quite eloquent when describing his victories over the ene- 
mies which infest them. 

" His knowledge," he said, "was gained by dint of application, 
by actual experience, and hard labor. It was none of your book 
knowledge, written by men who knew nothing about farming." 

"Well," said his friend, " if all this valuable information, gained 
by assiduous labor and observation of so many years, and which 
you have so clearly described, were written out and published, 
which would you have a young and inexperienced man do, take this 
as he finds it from your pen, or go through the same tedious process 
that you have gone through with, including all its vexations and 
losses ?" 

The question puzzled him, and he was silent for a moment, but 
was obliged to confess, after all, there was much that was valuable 
in books, because combining and relating the results and experience 
of practical cultivators. 

Do not condemn book farming. You may criticise certain books 
very severely, because written by ignorant, theoretical hands ; but 
there is always good wheat as well as abundant chaff. So there 
are many good books as well as poor ones. The time may come 
when a single hint from a book or paper may save your farm or or- 
chard, or add to your wealth, by telling you how to increase your 
crops. — Independent. 



International Industrial Exhibition. — A movement is on 
foot at Washington to inaugurate a plan for an International Indus- 
trial Exhibition in that city in the year 1871, and the idea has been 
regarded with much enthusiasm. At a meeting held a few days 
a<ro, a national executive committee was appointed, consisting of the 
President and Vice President of the United States, Chief Justice 
Chase, the heads of Departments, the Governors of the several 
States and Territories, and the Mayors of the principal cities ; also 
a local Special Executive Committee of ten for the District of Co- 
lumbia, to which are to be added the Secretary of the Interior, the 
Commissioner of Patents and the Commissioner of Agriculture. 
Other committees are to be appointed. It is proposed to establish 
a capital stock of one million dollars in shares of $50 each. 



1889.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 665 

Manures— How and When to Use Them. 

The best method of using stable or barn-yard manure for corn or 
potatoes, is to haul it fresh from the cellar in the condition in which 
it rests in the vaults, spread it upon the ploughed field, and harrow 
it in with a Geddes harrow. This is what is called "long manure," 
and is a form which, according to the opinions of many farmers, is 
unsuited to immediate use ; also, it is objected, that in spreading 
fresh manure upon ploughed fields and covering it only superficially 
with earth, much of it is lost by evaporation ; or, more correctly 
speaking, certain volatile, gaseous constituents rise on the breeze 
and are wafted away. In our view, both of these notions are incor- 
rect. The excrement of animals must undergo a kind of fermenta- 
tion, or putrefactive change, before it is assimilated by plants, and 
it is better that this be carried forward in the field, as there it is in 
contact with the soil, which is greedy to absorb all the products of 
the chemical change. Creative power has bestowed upon dry earth 
prodigious absorptive capabilities. If a lump of fresh manure as 
large as a peck measure is placed upon a ploughed field uncovered, 
and allowed to ferment or decay in the open air, the absortive pow- 
ers of the earth are such that it will actually attract toward it am- 
moniacal and other gases, and thus rob the atmosphere of its natu- 
ral volatile principles. A film of earth no thicker than the rind of 
an orange, placed over a lump of manure, will effectually prevent 
loss of manurial products, under all possible circumstances. It will 
be agreed, then, that a harrow is equally as effective as a plough in 
protecting manure in the open field. It is better to have the ma- 
nure near the surface, as the rains can reach it, and dissolve the 
soluble salts, and by percolation carry them down to the hungry 
roots of plants. Long manure is not lost when deeply turned under 
by the plough, but the farmer does not secure the whole value of 
his dressing under this mode of treatment in any case, and on some 
soils the loss is a most serious one. In the process of soap-making, 
it becomes necessary to set up a leach. Now, the farmer will not 
attempt to exhaust the tub of ashes of its potash by forcing water 
into the bottom and dipping the liquid off from the top. The natu- 
ral percolating or exhausting process is downward, in accordance 
with the laws of gravity. The soluble alkalies and salts are driven 
downward, and in the case of the leach we must have a vessel ready 
to receive them at the bottom ; and in the case of the same sub- 
stance leached from manure, we must have the manure so placed 
that plant roots will be at hand to absorb them before they pass be- 
yond their reach. 



6Q6 THE SOUTHERN [November 

Manure is never so valuable as when it is fresh. It then holds 
in association not only all the fixed soluble substances, natural to 
the solid excrement, but much that is of great value, found only in 
the liquid. It is in a condition to quickly undergo chemical change, 
and the gaseous, ammoniacal products secured are double those re- 
sulting from that which has been weathered in a heap out of doors 
for several months. — Boston Journal of Chemistry. 



The Norfolk and Great Western Railroad. 

The Philadelphia North American, of Friday, the 11th instant, 
has an article headed, " Norfolk, Memphis, El Paso and Cray am as," 
in which it directs special attention to the Norfolk and Great West- 
ern road, as an essential link in the great chain that is destined to 
extend from ocean to ocean, along the shortest and most favorable 
route. The North American pronounces it a " grand undertaking," 
and adds, " there can hardly be a doubt that eventually it will suc- 
ceed." It says : 

" The westward construction from Norfolk would seem to be in a 
fair way of being tried, and to depend as much upon the conduct of 
politics in Virginia — rendering immigration desirable, and so mak- 
ing a market for the lands subscribed — as upon anything else, or all 
things. There can be little doubt that, with such a population as the 
State can subsist and needs, this road is a necessity ; nor any more 
doubtful that the construction of the road would invite a great amount 
of immigration. The immediate question is whether the lands sold 
will bring enough to construct the road so far that it can join the 
Memphis road. If it can, that will be a powerful agent for the 
construction of the El Paso Pacific road, since there will then be 
two Atlantic ports and two cis-Mississippi lines interested in the 
work. There is now a route from Norfolk via Lynchburg, Abing- 
don, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Corinth, that really accomplishes 
the proposed union, but a great loss of time and increase of dis- 
tance. In order to compete with other roads now operating, Nor- 
folk must have the shortest possible line. That would be many 
miles south of Lynchburg, though cutting the North Carolina line 
near Abingdon, where the Virginia and Tennessee line passes. It 
would protract the road due southwestwardly, and much nearer to 
Nashville than Chattanooga, which is rapidly being converted into 
a sort of grand junction for all Southern roads. From Memphis 
this road is partially constructed as far west as Little Rock. We 
need not recite the course or distances here, as we have already 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 6G7 

given them at length. We say of this road that eventually it wil 
be built beyond a doubt. It gives a port to a great and rich inte- 
rior country between the Mississippi and Atlantic, that needs such 
accommodation and is rich enough in agricultural and mineral 
wealth to sustain it. The port of Norfolk is one of the very best 
on our whole border. Norfolk will unquestionably pursue the pol- 
icy of Northern ports as fast as she can procure population and 
money for doing so. The sales of her lands ought to furnish her 
both at an early day." — Petersburg Express, 



Self-Culture. 

Much has been written to stimulate the youth of our land to con- 
stant exertions and unremitting toil in, and self-sacrificing devotion 
to their great, grand aim of being Congressmen, Governors and 
Presidents. Much good has resulted from it. But the field is 
broader, the laborers more numerous, the prospect for a more abun- 
dant and richer harvest greater, and the needs for incentives 
more pressing, when we write directly to the young mechanic, 
farmer and day-laborer, and advise them to become, through self- 
culture, well educated, not in the binomial theorem and quadratics, 
not in Latin and Greek, but to be well educated in their respective 
vocations, and in consequence be able to become great and successful 
men. Not to the fastidious, the drone, the coward do we write, but 
to him who is not ashamed of his trade or calling; to him who is 
willing to work and lug and tug; to him who fears no obstacles, is 
intimidated by no seeming dangers or supercilious sneer, do we 
write, and, begging, ask him to u shake off the soft dreams that en- 
cumber his might and burst the fool's fetters that bind him." 
We have no objection to the blacksmith's being an aspirant for con- 
gressional honors, or the farmer's fond desire of filling the guberna- 
torial chair, or the hod-carrier's delusive dream of occupying the 
White House, but as so few, so very few out of the many, do real- 
ize the consummation of their bright imaginings, we say seek first 
distinction, young man, in your own trade or calling, through self- 
culture, by improving the many opportunities within your reach ; 
by pursuing steadily, with an unflinching determination, your one 
aim of being at the front and head of your vocation. Invent, im- 
prove, and invent again. Be unsatisfied, but constantly progres- 
sive. Devote your days to physical work, your nights to mental, 
for headwork must be the pioneer, the foundation, the contriver and 
the director. Then pursue those studies, although under many diffi- 



668 THE SOUTHERN [November 

culties, which assist you in your trade, and throw light on your 
business. Be an ornament to your profession. Elevate it. And 
then, if you desire, seek political fame, or better still, let it seek 
you. 

We are satisfied that the political arena is crowded. We are 
equally satisfied that the same amount of effort and mental culture, 
bestowed upon the farmer, the mechanic, and the day-laborer, would 
make more successful men, would dignify labor, and would result in 
untold blessings to the age and race. Read the lives of successful 
men — no matter in what field of labor — and be comforted and en- 
couraged by their trials, be moved by their success, follow their ex- 
ample, and be determined to succeed. 

We invite your attention to Washington, who was a surveyor and 
farmer; to Franklin, who was a printer; to Roger Sherman, who 
was a shoe-maker ; to Murat, who was the son of an inn-keeper ; 
to Ney, who was a notary's clerk ; to Sir William Hershel, who was 
a drummer-boy in the English army ; to A. T. Stuart, the prince 
merchant, who was an irish emigrant, with only a capital of twenty- 
five cents ; to James Gordon Bennett, who was a penniless boy, and 
who commenced the great New York Herald on a borrowed capital 
of five hundred dollars ; to Horace Greeley, who walked into New 
York barefooted and almost bareheaded; to George Law, one of 
the wealthiest sons of New York, and who was a stone-cutter and 
mason, and who worked on the Dismal Swamp Canal locks ; to 
John Jacob Astor, who accumulated millions from units ; to Chris- 
topher Columbus ; to Elihu Burritt, the learned blacksmith ; to Ste- 
phens of Georgia ; to Sir Humphrey Davy ; to Abraham Lincoln 
and Gilbert C. Walker, and to a host of other successful men 
through self-culture. 

Do you wish to be successful in life ? Then follow their example; 
let the wonderful potency of the human will inscribe, high up on 
the tablet of fame, your name as an educated, successful worker. 
Dare to do. What man has done, man can do. — Portsmouth Ga- 
zette. 



Many value mules more than horses ; they live longer, are 
tougher, require less food and smaller harness, and can jump 
higher. 

What goes against a farmer's grain ? His mowing machine. 



1869 ] PLANTER AND FARMER. 669 

Agricultural and Mechanical Fairs. 

It is gratifying to see both in the North and South the revival of 
interest which is manifesting itself in agricultural fairs. The great 
States of New York, Pennsylvania and Indiana have already held 
this fall their annual exhibitions, though the pleasure of the occa- 
sion in the last named State was greatly marred by the boiler ex- 
plosion which entailed such a fearful loss of human life. The gen- 
eral renewal which we are witnessing of agricultural fairs is of 
happy augury to the most important department of our national in- 
dustry, and which, indeed, lies at the foundation of the commercial 
and manufacturing activity and of the general prosperity. The 
State fairs and the district and county fairs which, in our own and 
neighboring States, are affording promise of becoming established 
institutions, furnish evidence of expanding strength and progress in 
the direction of agricultural development which may well enlist the 
sympathies and co-operation of the whole country. The cultivators 
of the soil, who, a few years ago, were called from their industrial 
pursuits to engage in the destructive enterprises of war, are, with 
redoubled energy, repairing the wastes thus produced, and by the 
aid of agricultural machinery and labor-saving implements and ap- 
pliances, have been enabled during the past year to gather in an 
extraordinary harvest. The necessaries, and what were once con- 
sidered the luxuries of life, can now be obtained with comparative 
ease and cheapness. Even the change of the system of labor in 
some of the States, and the demoralization from political agitation, 
have not prevented the earth, under the influence of a favorable 
climate and fertile fields, from bringing forth an abundant increase. 
There is scarcely a country in the world which combines so many 
advantages as the United States for cultivating and perfecting all 
the necessary elements of subsistence, comfort, and even luxury, 
while our extended system of internal improvements affords ready 
transportation for the products of the soil, so that if there should 
be a failure of crops in any particular section, it would not be felt 
in a degree past remedy. 

The annual agricultural fairs, which before the war w T ere so pop- 
ular and useful, have proved themselves of great practical value to 
agricultural enlightenment and progress, as well as afforded valua- 
ble opportunities for the interchange of views and experiences by 
the agricultural community, and of social enjoyment. It is the 
ambition of those engaged in getting up these exhibitions to collect 
together by liberal premiums the best herds of cattle, horses, sheep, 



670 THE SOUTHERN [November 

hogs, poultry and fowls, the varied products of the garden and 
farm, the specimens of housewifely industry, and manufactures of 
various kinds, machinery, &c, facilities for conveying which are in- 
creased by the liberal terms upon which the railroad and steamboat 
lines generally afford transportation on these occasions. The county 
and district fairs are valuable tributaries to the State fairs, and fa- 
cilitate the selecting of the best articles for the great exhibitions, 
besides awakening and concentrating the public interest upon the 
subject. — Baltimore Sun. 



New Process in Wheat Culture. 

The result of an experiment made during the past season, by R. 
A. Gilpin, at his farm in Westo»vn, on the wide planting and culti- 
vation of wheat, appears to be quite remarkable. In giving an ac- 
count of the experiment, Mr. Gilpin says : The ground measured 
an acre within a fraction ; it was not selected on account of any 
inferiority, but was much the same as the rest of the field, and was 
manured and prepared ju3t the same. The seed was the red Medi- 
terranean, and not very good, being taken from the wheat grown 
on the place the previous season, which was injured by the weevil. 
It was drilled in at the rate of three-quarters of a bushel to the 
acre, on the 25th of September, at the same time as the rest of the 
field. The peculiarity in the treatment was, that every other pipe 
of the drill was stopped, so that the rows of wheat were twenty 
inches apart, or double the usual distance. In the spring, when 
the ground had become sufficiently dry to work, a small garden hoe 
harrow was run between the rows, working the ground to the depth 
of about three inches ; this was done only once. The effect of this 
working was very apparent ; the wheat took a rapid start and out- 
grew the rest of the field. 

As the season advanced it grew tall and strong, and no amount 
of wind or rain had any effect to lay it down ; when the heads 
formed, their greater length was very apparent. It was backward 
in ripening, and the rest of the field was cut and hauled in a week 
before this was ready. Now for the result : the experimental wheat 
yielded twenty-three bushels to the acre, and the rest yielded only 
nine bushels to the acre ; the quality of each was about the same. 
Whether from defect in the seed, or the wet season, or the late 
planting, the whole of my wheat was injured both by rust and wee- 
vil, and the experimental part did not escape — it was affected just 
as the rest was. 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 671 



This experiment cannot be regarded as entirely satisfactory ; the 
season was exceptional, the seed used was inferior, and the yield of 
the experimental part of the field was not absolutely great, but only 
by comparison with the rest of the crop, which was a poor one, from 
the effects of the rust and the weevil ; but the result is, under any 
circumstances, sufficiently reasonable to attract the attention of 
farmers and induce a further trial. — Farm Journal. 



Cotton Manufacturing South. 

The South, as we have seen, has made gratifying progress in the 
manufacture of cotton, as well as in its culture, during the last few 
years. And in view of the probability of an early recovery from 
the wastes of war, a proposition for the Southern States to work 
up their fine long cotton into yarns for the English and other 
foreign markets, instead of exporting the bulk of the raw staple, as 
in times gone by, has been revived, and is meeting with great favor. 
Such an industrial development, it is seen, would be equivalent to a 
positive increase of the active labor on the plantations, since it 
would utilize a class of the population not available for the fields, 
but which is at present measurably useless, and, to some degree, a 
positive drag on society. 

The South, it is well known, has important advantages in the 
manufacture of cotton. It has the raw material at hand, an abun- 
dance of food within easy access, an unlimited water power, an un- 
surpassed climate in many sections, plenty of timber and coal, to- 
gether with extended and extending facilities for communication and 
transportation. The only present drawback, or impediment, of any 
importance, is the lack of adequate capital ; but as this is already 
being supplied, there would seem to be no good reason why manu- 
facturing industry should not at once take deep root, since it has 
been demonstrated that the relative cost of converting cotton into 
yarn, as between England and the South, is in favor of the latter. 
The Superintendent of the Salada Cotton Mills, at Columbia, S. C, 
has furnished some interesting facts and figures on this point. He 
assumes, by way of comparison, the price of cotton at Columbia to be 
20 cents per pound; at New York, 23.5 cents; and in Manchester, 
England, 24 cents, which he assumes are fair proportions. On this 
basis the cost of making a pound of cotton into yarn at Columbia 
would be 9 cents, while in New York it would be 14.31 cents, and 
in Manchester 11.25 cents. Taking into account the freight and 
insurance from Columbia to New York, and the cartage, commission, 



672 THE SOUTHERN [November 



and other charges here, the cost of manufacturing yarn is found to 
be fully 5 cents per pound cheaper at Columbia than in New York, 
assuming that the article is worked up here. A similar calculation 
having been entered into, as between Columbia and Manchester, 
shows that the manufacture of cotton yarns can be done cheaper 
at the South than in England, by about the difference in the value 
of currency and gold. The figures of a manufacturer of yarns in 
Manchester, show the cost of a pound of yarn there — taking 24 
cents per pound as the cost of the cotton, and 11.25 as the cost of 
conversion — at 35.25 cents. The cost of the transfer of the pound 
of Southern yarn — costing in the South 29 cents — from the South 
to England is, including both freight and insurance, bare 1.5 cents. 
This, added to the preceding cost, makes the cost to England 30.5 
cents, whereas the pound manufactured in England costs 35.25 
cents; showing that the Southern manufacturer can put his yarns 
down in England 4.75 (5.20) cheaper than the English manufacturer 
can make them there. If these figures, which refer to No. 20 yarns, 
are substantially correct, they surely afford a very strong argument 
for pushing the manufacture of cotton at the South, as well as its 
culture. By working up the surplus cotton into yarns for exporta- 
tion, it has been roughly estimated that a profit of twenty dollars a 
bale would be realized over and above the profit of growing the sta- 
ple. In a crop of three millions of bales, this would afford an ex- 
tra profit of sixty millions of dollars — enongh, surely, to create a 
strong incentive on the part of the men of means to engage in the 
business. — Economist and Dry Goods Reporter. 



Where Woman's Power Lies. 

The true power of woman is the resistless power of affection. In 
asserting this, am I attempting to mask the great questions of the 
day with u a glittering generality?" Am I disposed to deny any 
lawful claim which woman may make for a more extensive recogni- 
tion of her rights, or a larger field for her powers ? No ; I am not 
doing any such thing. Let woman do whatever her faculties can 
achieve — let her go wherever her instincts demand. If she truly 
follows her instincts, I am sure she will not go wrong. I am sure 
of this also, that wherever man may lawfully go, woman may law- 
fully go. Wherever woman ought not to be, it is a shame for man, 
it is a shame for humanity to be. I merely insist upon this, that 
whatever woman may accomplish in the world, with brain or hands, 
will draw its vital efficacy, its talismanic virtue from the heart; and 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 673 

that her strength in all these various shapes of action and of influ- 
ence, in its root and essence, will be the strength of the affections. 
The biding of a woman's power must ever be in the fervor and 
steadfastness of her love. And her most triumphant characteristic 
is love, culminating in its highest expression — that of self-sacrice. 
A thoughtful writer has observed the contrast between the sexes 
even in their play. " The boy," he says, "gets together wooden 
horses and a troop of tin soldiers, and works with them. The girl 
takes a doll and works for it." This is woman's great peculiarity 
— the work of self-sacrifice — working for others. — Rev. Dr. 
Chapin. 

Greasing Wagons. — Few people fully appreciate the impor- 
tance of thoroughly lubricating the axles, etc., of wagons and car- 
riages, and still fewer know what are the best materials and the 
best methods of applying them. A well made wheel will endure 
common wear from ten to twenty-five years, if care is taken to use 
the right kind and proper amount of grease ; but if this matter is 
not attended to, they will be used up in five or six years. Lard 
should never be used on a wagon, for it will penetrate the hub, and 
work its way around the tenons of the spokes, and spoil the wheel. 
Tallow is the best lubricator for wooden axle trees, and castor oil 
for iron. Just grease enough should be applied to the spindle of a 
wagon to give it a light coating ; this is better than more, for the 
surplus put on will work out at the ends, and be forced by the 
shoulder-bands and nut-washers into the hub around the outside of 
the boxes. -To oil an axle-tree, first wipe the spindle clean with a 
cloth wet with spirits of turpentine, and then apply a few drops of 
castor oil near the shoulders and end. One teaspoonful is sufficient 
for the whole. — Exchange. 



How to Keep up your Hay Crop. — A farmer who had been 
in the habit of selling his hay for many years in succession, being 
asked how he kept up his hay crop without manuring or cultivating 
his land, replied : " I never allowed the after math to be cut." If 
this rule is generally followed there would be less said about the run- 
ning out of grass fields or short crops of hay. Some farmers feed 
off every green thing and compel cattle to pull up and gnaw off the 
roots of the grass. Cutting rowen is certain death to hay crops. 
A farmer had better buy hay at forty dollars per ton than ruin his 
hay field by close grazing. The general treatment of grass lands 
in this respect is wrong and expensive, and should be abandoned as 
a matter of profit and economy. — Exchange. 

vol. in— 43 



671 THE SOUTHERN [November 




poritcultnral §eprfjjwitL 



JOHN M. ALLAN, Editor. 

The Augusta County Fair. 

The second annual exhibition of the Augusta County Agricultu- 
ral Society was held at their grounds, near Staunton, on the 13th, 
14th and 15th ultimo. Large numbers of visitors were in attend- 
ance each day, and financially the Fair was a grand success. The 
exhibition was creditable. The number and variety of articles were 
not as great as might have been expected from such a wealthy and 
flourishing county, but the quality of those exhibited was very fine. 
The main cause of the paucity of articles was that too much de- 
pendence was placed upon foreign contributions, and not enough 
effort made to bring out home productions. This is the fault of our 
county and district Fairs ; they look to distant cities for their ex- 
hibitors; and while it is well to do all they can to encourage these, 
still they should not overlook the fact that their main object is to 
develope home resources. The Central State Societies will of ne- 
cessity attract the attention of parties at a distance, and it is not 
possible for these to attend all the county as well as the State 
exhibition. The Horticultural department was not by any means 
full, but the show of apples was very fine. Some good specimens 
of grapes were also upon the tables ; while the vegetables exhibited 
■were of first quality. Too much credit cannot be given to the 
President (Col. Baldwin) and the Executive Committee for the 
great care taken to make the visitors enjoy themselves, and nothing 
could have passed off more pleasantly than did the whole exhibi- 
tion. The grounds of this Society are admirably adapted to its 
purposes, and we are sure that a long and prosperous career 
awaits it. 

Work. — The unit by which quantities of work are measurable is 
the labor necessary to raise one pound the height of one foot through 
space. 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 675 

Grapes Under Glass. 

While so much is being done to foster the cultivation of our na- 
tive grapes — to determine their relative value for wine-making or 
table use— to ascertain what varieties are best suited to each section, 
of our vast country, and to produce new kinds, each one of which, 
as it makes its appearance, is loudly proclaimed to combine all the 
excellence s of its predecessors — we wish quietly to call attention 
to another kind of grape culture — that is, the cultivation of foreign 
sorts under glass. Every one who knows anything of them will 
readily acknowledge the superiority of most of them over any, even 
the best, of our native kinds, in size of bunch and berry and in 
flavor. If they could be grjwn out doors without protection, away 
would go Catawba, Norton, Delaware, Iona, Rebecca, Eumelan, and 
the host of others which require a catalogue of ten pages for their 
enumeration. But some protection they must have, and this has 
deterred many who are able to enjoy this luxury, from the attempt 
to grow them. The cost of a suitable structure is much less than is 
generally supposed ; and though skill and experience will always 
excel, good results may be attained by following simple directions. 
First, as to structure. A simple frame house, weatherboarded back 
and front and at the gable ends, with common hot-bed sash well 
fitted on for a steep roof, is all that is necessary. A house 20 feet 
long, 6 feet wide, 7 feet high at the back and 4 feet high in front, 
will cost as follows : 

300 feet plank, - - - $7.50 

7 pieces scantling (12 feet), - - 3.50 

6 sash 5x6 J feet, - - 18.00 

Door, - - - 3.00 



i«a 



2.00 

Any man who can use a saw and hatchet can build it, and any 
one who cannot will pay about ten dollars for the work. Of course 
this is not very accurate, as nothing is esdm * ed for nails, digging 
post holes, &c. Nor is the proper allowance in the length of the 
house made for the strips between each sash, but it answers the pur- 
pose of showing that the plan is feasible to persons of very mode- 
rate means. This is the house ; now for the grapes. A border 
must be prepared the whole length and in front of the house by 
digging a trench three feet wide and two feet deep ; this to be filled 
with well rotted stable manure, woods earth, and good top soil in 
equal parts. The vines will be planted near the centre of the 



$76 THE SOUTHERN . [November 

trench, about four feet apart, and trained along under the surface of 
the soil to the apertures made for them in the front wall. It is 
better, however, that they make their first summer's growth in the 
open air. The holes through which they pass into the house must 
be carefully covered with earth. Once inside and fairly under way, 
the pruning and training is quite similar to that of grapes on a trel- 
lis out doors. The supports should not be nearer than six inches 
to the glass. The sash, or, at least, every other one, must be mova- 
ble, so that there may be proper ventilation. Common sense, with 
such information as can be obtained from books, will soon settle all 
the details of management, and in the third summer there will be 
ample repayment for all the labor and cost. 

We commend the experiment to all who are fond of Black Ham- 
burgh, White Muscut, Barbarossa, Lady Downes, and other deli- 
cious grapes, which they can only obtain now by paying fruit ven- 
ders one dollar per pound for them. 

This, of course, is only intended for those who know absolutely 
nothing about cold graperies. Those who grow for profit are expe- 
rienced, and have much more elaborate houses than the one sug- 
gested above. 



Parlor Flowers. 

I'he frost has already nipped many of our more tender flowers, 
and the more hardy ones will soon succumb to its rigorous demands. 
It is time, therefore, to arrange for in-door bloom, to enliven the 
dull and dreary days of Winter. The fortunate possessors of con- 
servatories may have a large variety of beautiful flowers, from which 
those less fortunate are debarred; but there are many plants which 
can be grown and will bloom well in the drawing room. 

Make a shelf by a southern or eastern window, and fill it with 
some of the following list ; water when dry, and do not keep the 
room at too high a temperature, (the cooler the better, provided 
frost is kept out,) and you will have flowers until the Spring suns 
bring out early bloom in the garden : Hyacinths, in glasses and in 
pots. Bouvardia — all the varieties of this plant are showy, and 
though not profuse, are constant bloomers. The Camelia Japonica 
is almost indispensable, even in a small collection, and can be had 
in endless variety, from pure white to deepest crimson ; these should 
be kept cool. Cincrania requires patient waiting until the latter 
part of Winter, when its ample show of bright eyed bloom will well 
repay the little attention required. Some varieties of Fuchsia will 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 677 

bloom constantly through the season ; to produce the finest effect, 
they should be kept in pyramidal shape. Of Geraniums and Pe- 
largerims, the varieties are numerous, and nearly ail are valuable 
as window plants. Add to these Heliotrope, Mignonnette, Sweet 
Allyesum, Primroses, and Stovia, for a constant show of white 
flowers. 



Nut Culture. 

The Hickory (Carya). — Had Columbus discovered nothing in 
the new world but the hickory tree, it would have been worth all 
the labor, danger and expense incurred by that inspired navigator. 
This may seem an extravagant statement, but we make it deliber- 
ately. But whatever Goth, Vandal or Yankee bestowed upon it, 
the harsh and uncouth name of " hickory " deserves not our thanks. 
Blessings on the gentle botanist who tried to make amends to the 
stately and precious fruit-bearer, by giving it the musical denomi- 
nation of Carya. We will describe only the two most valuable va- 
rieties — Shell-bark {Carya alba), and the Pecan (Carya oliveefor- 
mis) — first, however, giving the general characteristics of the tree. 
The soil it prefers is a deep alluvial loam, yet it grows well upon 
uplands. The Shell-bark is found in abundance in New York and 
other Northern States, but the Pecan is peculiar to the South and 
West. No tree of the forest attains a loftier height, or is clothed 
with a richer, more beautiful foliage. S. B. Buckley, Esq , states 
that he measured a Pecan on the Brazos, in Fort Bend county, 
Texas, which was sixteen feet, five inches in circumference at three 
feet from the ground, and one hundred feet in height. The County 
Surveyor of Navarro county, in the same State, says he measured 
one on the Trinity river which was twenty -three feet in circumfer- 
ence at three feet from, the ground. There are few things about 
•which Englishmen evince so much national pride as their oaks. 
They will give you the history, the age, and the dimensions of every 
famous oak in the three kingdoms. The Beggar s oak, in Bagot's 
Park, they will tell you is twenty feet in girth five feet from the 
ground. Wallace's oak, at Edenslee, near where Wallace was born, 
is twenty-one feet in circumference, and sixty-seven feet high — 
thirty-three feet lower than Buckley's Pecan in Fort Bend. A 
tradition states that Wallace and three hundred men hid themselves 
from the English in the branches of this great oak. 

The Shell-bark has a broader leaf than the Pecan, and both are 
of a rich, dark and luxuriant green. 



678 THE SOUTHERN [November 



, The Pecan (pronounced peeon, accent on the last syllable,) grows 
as far north as Missouri, and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. 
Michaux states that he saw a swamp of 800 acres on the right bank 
of the Ohio, opposite the Cumberland river, entirely covered with 
it. The nut is about an inch, or an inch and a half long, smooth, 
cylindrical, and thin shelled. It is a delicious nut, but not quite 
equal to the Southern Shell-bark, which is much superior to the 
Northern variety. The latter, however, are rarely seen in the mar- 
ket, while the former are abundant, but higher priced, even here, 
than any imported nut. It is delightful to see the ease with which 
they grow from the seed. You may rely on them with as much 
certainty as any other crop whatever. I have about fifty young 
trees, all obtained from the seed. A fine Pecan stands in the Cap- 
itol grounds in Washington, and it is said, bears abundant crops of 
excellent nuts. The nuts can be obtained almost anywhere for 
planting; every fruiterer keeps them. 

The wood of the hickory is very valuable, being employed in al- 
most every branch of mechanics where tough timber is required, 
and for fuel it has no equal. Hickory hoop poles are always in de- 
mand. The hickory lis worth cultivating for hoop-poles alone. It 
is worth cultivating for mechanical purposes alone. It is worth cul- 
tivating for fuel alone. *It is worth cultivating for its beauty as a 
park tree alone. Its value as a fruit-bearer is beyond estimation. 
Plant ten acres for your son, in Pecans and Shell-barks, and our 
word for it, he will find his ten acres quite enough. 

The Government ought to encourage the planting of beautiful 
nut-bearing trees, by exempting all land planted in valuable fruit- 
bearers from taxation. I see no use in planting trees that are not 
valuable, when it is just as easy to plant those that are. 



Care of Newly-Planted Trees. 

Many tree-planters think that when the roots of a tree are once 
in the ground, the work is done; when, in fact, it is only begun. 
After the tree is carefully planted, it should be mulched with 
leaves, straw, tan, or whatever similar material is most accessible ; 
not so thick as to exclude the air, but sufficiently so to retain the 
moisture in the soil ; for, although there may be plenty of rain 
early in the season, the probability is that there will be a drought, 
more or less severe, before the end. The top should be shortened 
to correspond with the quantity of roots lost in digging up ; and, in 
doing this, cut to a good bud, and one so placed that the shoot 



I860.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 679 

which grows from it shall improve the shape of the tree. This will 
generally be on the outside of the shoot. As the prevailing winds 
in this country are from the west, it may be well to leave the limbs 
on this side a little longer, to assist in balancing the top. Make a 
neat cut, close, but not too close, to the bud, and, if you are very 
particular, cover the cut with grafting-wax to prevent evaporation. 
The cutting-back should be done as early as possible. If in an ex- 
posed situation, it must be staked, or otherwise prevented from 
shaking by the wind. It is sometimes difficult to drive a stake 
firmly in the soil just loosened by planting the tree, and, the larger 
the tree, the greater the leverage on the stake; so we prefer to 
steady the tree by placing large stones on the ground around it, 
which also assist to keep the ground moist. But for very large 
trees, we have found the best way to be to fasten four guys near 
the top, first wrapping a cloth around to prevent chafing, and mak- 
ing the lower ends fast to a short stake driven in at some distance 
from the tree. The lines need not be large ; one of two or three 
ropeyarns twisted together will fasten a tree twenty-five feet high 
so firmly, that nothing but a hurricane can shake it. The further 
care will be mainly in destroying insects, and pinching out any use- 
less shoots as soon as they start, and the ends of those which grow 
so much stronger than others as to impair the balance of the tree. 
— Journal of Horticulture. v 



Autumn transplanting has many advantages over Spring 
transplanting ; the first, and not the least important of which is, the 
comparative leisure of the season, especially to nurserymen. We 
know of no greater satisfaction than the reflection, at the approach 
of Winter, that all the work which could possibly be done to save 
time in the hurry and drive of Spring work has been thoroughly 
done ; that all the gaps in the young orchard rows have been care- 
fully filled, and the roots protected by sufficient litter against the 
cold of Winter, and the tops staked, or otherwise guarded against 
being shaken by the wind. 

Another and perhaps a still greater advantage of Autumn plant- 
ing is the superior condition of the soil — dry, warm and friable ; 
while in Spring, especially on heavy soils, and even on light soils, 
in the early part of the season, the ground will often be so wet and 
cold that it is impossible to plant a tree properly. A man cannot 
set a tree in the best manner without putting his hands into the 



680 THE SOUTHERN [November 

■ ... . ,^: 

dirt ; and the discomfort of handling cold, wet earth, is not un- 
worthy of consideration. Every owner of a fruit garden of any 
size should have a few large trees in reserve, so as to replace any 
that may die without injuring the uniform appearance of the rows ; 
and, as these will require special care in transplanting, it should by 
all means be done in the genial days of Autumn, when both air and 
earth are favorable for the work. In such days, how can any man 
who intends to plant trees possibly defer it to the hurry of Spring, 
and very likely to the end of the season, when the buds are start- 
ing, and the danger of injury is tenfold ? Besides the greater loss 
from evaporation, the greater injury of rubbing off the bud in hand- 
ling is a serious consideration. — Journal of Horticulture. 



Root-Pruning of Fruit Trees. — The Western Rural, in a 
careful article on root-pruning, prescribes this method for doing it 
best : 

"In root-pruning, a trench is opened around the tree to be ope- 
rated on, at a suitable distance from the trunk, that distance de- 
pending upon the size of the tree and the consequent extent of the 
roots. About one-fourth of the roots may be cut away, and as 
they extend nearly as far as the branches, the diameter of the cir- 
cle formed by the trench may be regulated by the spread of the 
branches. In root-pruning small trees, the soil need not be dug 
out of the trench, as the roots may be cut by driving down a very 
sharp spade to the required depth. When a large tree is to be 
operated on, the lowest roots can scarcely be reached without re- 
moving the soil from the trench to the depth of a foot and a half, 
and then cutting a circle with the spade in the bottom of the trench, 
at least one foot in depth. 

" When a tree has been deprived of the greater number of its 
fibrous or feeding roots by this method of pruning, manure should 
be applied to encourage the growth of others. A root-pruned tree, 
without the application of suitable manure, generally produces a 
large number of very small fruit ; but when the trench is filled with 
suitable manure, and a heavy top-pressing of it applied to the area 
within the circle, very favorable results may be expected. On the 
whole, root-pruning has been found to be injurious to the longevity 
of trees, and should not be resorted to until all other expedients 
have failed. The best time for performing this operation is in the 
Fall, immediately after the growth of the tree has ceased." 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 681 

Tienching for Roses. 

So far as I have noticed, the very dry weather of this summer is 
producing an unusual amount of Mildew among the roses. As I 
happened to have one bed of hybrid perpetuals, all of which are in 
the most perfect health imaginable ; free from even a suspicion of 
mildew during all the dry heat, it will interest many of your read- 
ers to know how this result has been obtained. It is simply by 
trenching. 

The soil in this bed would, by most persons be considered ex- 
tremely unfavorable for growing good Roses, being really nothing 
but light sand, such as is looked upon as just the thing for sweet 
potatoes. Two years ago last Spring it was trenched 20 to 24 
inches deep, and very liberally manured with ordinary stable 
manure, the Roses being then planted a littte more than three feet 
apart. They made a rapid growth, and towards the end of Novem- 
ber were deeply mulched with strawy manure, all of the mulching 
being removed about the first of April. Last year the bloom and 
growth were both admirable. They were again mulched during the 
winter, and as soon as the mulching was removed in the Spring, 
the Roses were pruned and the shoots pegged down in such a man- 
ner as to completely cover the bed. 

Such masses of rich foliage and superb blossoms as they produced 
last June can hardly be imagined, and were worth almost any 
amount of trouble to procure. And as I said before the foliage is 
still in perfect health, in spite of the extreme heat and dryness; for 
the roots run far down into the cool and moisture of the deep soil. 

Geo. Such, in Gardener's Monthly. 



Pear Growing in Delaware. — Against my own judgment, I 
left a few pear-trees in variety without cultivation. They have not 
done half as well as when I cultivate, and the fruit will only ave- 
rage about one third the size. I have an orchard of sixteen thous- 
and pear-trees on my farm in Denmark, Delaware, one half stand- 
ards and one half dwarfs, four, five, and six years in orchard this 
spring. My Bartletts and Belle Lucratives are producing from 
half-peck up to a bushel to a tree. Fire-blight is the great draw- 
back to the planting of pear-orchards in this and other sections. I 
have not lost, 1 believe, one tree by fire-blight in my orchard of 
ten thousand trees. The seventeen year locust destroyed some for 
me last summer. I should have been pleased for some of your 
Boston pear-men to haVe seen my orchard in fruit. 

Yours truly, 
Randolph Peters, in Journal of Horticulture. 

Wilmington, Del, Aug. 23, 1869. 



682 THE SOUTHREN [November 

Successful Plum Culture. — William Day of Morristown, N. 
J., an inveterate curculator-hater, lays down his rules for successful 
plum culture : 

" First, let the planter be sure to secure thrifty trees ; for no 
after-culture will compensate for the loss and consequent mortifica- 
tion and vexation of any attempt to recurerate stuned plum trees; 
like a stunted mule, they may grow, but seldom thrive. Next 
plant as compact as admissible — say sixteen feet apart — in rows, in 
the form of a peach orchard, to the extent of one quarter or half 
acre at least, as a less quantity of ground occupied than we propose 
would hardly be a remunerative experiment. At this distance each 
way, 170 trees would plant an acre* Give the trees good nursing, 
care and attention, by constant cultivation, until they are ready to 
bear. I should have said the plat should be adjoining the hog-pen; 
then run around the patch a suitable inclosure, and turn in the hogs, 
and give them the 'freedom of the city,' from the time the first 
blossom is seen until the fruit is ripening, then turn out the hogs ; 
spread clean straw around the trees for the fruit to be gathered 
upon ; handle it with the greatest care ; send immediately to mar- 
ket ; pocket the profits, and lie down at night upon your pillow 
with a clear conscience, thanking the Almighty for so great a bles- 
sing as the delicious plum." — Horticulturist. 



A Brilliant Flower-Bed. — Select ormake a small isolated bed 
in some spot fully exposed to the sun, and let it contain fine sandy 
peat, or fine sandy soil of any other kind; and let it be well drain- 
ed, of course, and place a few rustic stones round the margin and 
through the bed, half or more buried in the soil, so that the whole 
will be elevated a little above the grass level. Over the bed, Reside 
the stones, &c, plant a few, a select few of the best dwarf sedums 
and saxifrages of the incrusted section; and perhaps, if you are 
fond of them, a few of the very choicest spring bulbs, — such, for 
instance, as that, little Siberian exquisite Puschkinia scitlo- 
dites — just to vary the bed a little at all points, and give it unsur- 
passed charms in spring. But for the brilliancy and chief beauty, 
you must have a number of plants of a very beautiful hard peren- 
nial, Calandrinia umbellata. Make the groundwork of your bed of 
these, and put a few good specimens on the little elevations about 
the highest points and tiny rocks in your little bed. Plant in 
spring, give a good soaking of water in dry weather and wait for 
the result. The Calendrinia is a continuously-blooming plant; and 
it begins to flower, if well grown, you may expect a display of the 
purest magenta-colored flowers for many weeks.— O'Shane, in Floral 
World. 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 683 

pining gjqrartmtttt. 



Mineral Wealth of Nations. 

IRON AND COAL. 

[From an interesting and instructive essay, by Albert D. Richardson, on 
Mining, in the American Year Book for 1869, * we extract the following articles 
on Iron and Coal, two very important constituent elements of the mineral 
wealth of nations:] 

IRON. 

Iron, like gold, was known to the ancients. We read that " iron 
is tnken out of the earth," and again that Tubal Cain was an "in- 
structor of every artificer in brass and iron." One of the attrac- 
tions of the Promised Land lay in its- being a country "whose 
stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." And 
•when Croesus showed Solon his stores of gold, Solon answered, "If 
another king cometh who hath more iron than thou, he will be 
master of all this gold." 

Iron is the most useful, most abundant, and most valuable of all 
the metals. It can be beaten into any shape, cast into the most 
intricate patterns, rolled into thin plates, and drawn into fine wire 
of the greatest tenacity. It is alike adapted to the most massive 
and the most delicate works. As an illustration of the enhancement 
of its value by labor, it is asserted that the worth of a piece of iron 
in different stages of manufacture may be as follows : — In the bar, 
$5; in horse-shoes, $10.50; in needles, $55; in pen-knife blades, 
$3,285; in shirt buttons, $29,480; in hair-springs of watches, 
$250,000. 

Iron was used long before the Trojan war. Solomon's saying, 
"as iron sharpeneth iron," relates to a practice ancient even in his 
day. Monuments of Thebes and Memphis, forty centuries old, rep- 
resent butchers sharpening their knives upon steel. Scythia was 
termed the "mother of iron." As early as A. D. 120, the Romans 
erected forges in Britain, and remains of their furnaces are still 
found upon the tops of hills. The ancients, however, had only 
wrought iron. The earliest notice of cast iron is found in the 
records of the 15th century. American Indians were altogether 
ignorant of the metal. 

In Virginia in 1620, a ton of iron cost <£10, the price of a man's 
labor for a year. Among the early American colonists, an iron pot 

*Edited by David N. Camp, and published by O. D. Chase & Co., Hartford* 
1869, pp. 824. 



684 THE SOUTHERN [November 

"was often bequeathed to some heir as a special mark of esteem, and 
all pots and kettles used were of wrought iron. Virginia in 1662 
forbade sending iron out of the colony, under a penalty of 10 pounds 
of tobacco for every pound of iron exported. The first iron works 
in the United States were built " on Falling Creek in Jamestown 
river," in 1619; but, three years later, the Indians destroyed the 
furnaces and massacred the workmen and neighboring settlers to 
the number of 347 persons. Iron works were established at Lynn 
and Braintree, Mass., in 1644. The first iron vessel cast in America 
was an iron quart pot, about 1650. In 1673, New England had five 
furnaces. In 1790, the first furnace was erected west of the'Alle- 
ghanies. 

The ancients melted the ores in open furnaces, into which air was 
forced by hand bellows. The metal collected in a "loop," and was 
then beaten on an anvil, the impurities separating in a semi- fluid 
cinder. The ores are now reduced by suitable fluxes in huge blast fur- 
naces raised to an intense heat, sometimes estimated at nearly 3,000° 
Eahr., by currents of hot air driven in by powerful machinery. The 
resulting pig iron is then passed through puddling and rolling mills, 
and converted into wrought iron of commerce, which again, by the 
addition of a slight proportion of carbon becomes steel. The high 
blast furnace was invented in 1558. Up to 1700, the ores were 
reduced by charcoal ; then bituminous coal was substituted. The 
puddling process was invented in 1784, and the hot blast introduced 
in 1827. Anthracite coal was first successfully used for smelting in 
Pennsylvania in 1835. The following statement of the iron product 
of the United States for 1867, shows the amount of pig iron produced 
by the different qualities of coal : 

Anthracite pig iron, 784,783 tons ; raw bituminous coal and coke, 
318,647 tons; charcoal, 344,341 tons; total, 1,447,771 tons. 

The early uses of iron were few and comparatively rude. Modern 
civilization has greatly stimulated its product, and introduced it 
into nearly all the industries of life. The first great increase in 
demand was due to railroads. Wooden rails were used until about 
1700 ; then strap iron came in, but was not generally adopted. In 
1767, the Colebrook-Dale iron works in Shropshire, England, had 
a very large quantity of iron on hand, as the prices were extremely 
low. The wooden railway belonging to the works requiring frequent 
and expensive repairs, the proprietors laid down their pigs of iron 
for rails, observing that when the prices of metal rose, they could 
easily take them up. Their greatly superior value soon became 
obvious, and it was found that ten horses could do the work which 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. , 6 85 

formerly required four hundred. Still it took many years to bring 
them into general use. Now the total length of railways in the 
world is upwards of 170,000 miles, an iron belt that would encircle 
the globe six times, and is almost long enough to connect earth with 
the moon. In 1828, the annual product of pig iron was : Great 
Britain, 700,000 tons ; United States, 140,000 tons ; total product 
of the world, 1,000,000 tons. 

The yield for 18(36 (the latest full annual returns received), was : 

England 4,530,051 tons. Russia 408,000 tons. 

France 1,300,320 " Spain 75,0 " 

Belgium 500,000 " Italy 30,000 " 

Prussia 800,000 " Swiizerland 15,000 " 

Austria 12,000 " Zollverein 250,000 " 

Sweden 226,676 " United States 1,175,000 " 



Total 9,322,047 tons. 

• 

No gold and silver mines have ever been the sources of such 

uniform and long-continued prosperity as some of the rich deposits 

of iron in Great Britain and Pennsylvania. The iron product and 

manufacture of the United States has increased enormously within 

the last few years, and the vast beds of iron convenient to coal in 

various parts of the Union, are destined to make America the chief 

source of supply for the world. Pennsylvania takes the lead of all 

our States and Michigan follows. The Lake Superior region which 

made its first shipment in 1855, already produces nearly one- fifth of 

the iron ores of the United States. The product of this region is 

increasing with great rapidity. So is the yield of Missouri, whose 

three mountains of solid iron known as Iron Mountain, Pilot Knob, 

and Shepherd's Mountain, are among the most remarkable natural 

curiosities on our continent. Oregon is beginning to supply the 

markets of the Pacific coast with domestic iron. The product is 

very pure in quality and exceedingly abundant. The only furnace 

yet in operation is at Oswego, on the west bank of the Wallamet 

river, six miles south of Portland. Another company is formed, and 

works are building on the Columbia river, below the mouth of the 

Wallamet ; and within the next few years the iron product of the 

State is likely to be very large. Colorado is already producing 

iron ; and the ore is found in greater or less quantities in nearly or 

quite all the new States and Territories, as well as in all the older 

ones. Where coal is not convenient to the iron beds, the ore is 

often shipped to other. States for reducing. The following table 

shows the estimated product, not of ore, but of pig iron, in our 

several States, for 1868 : 



686 . THE SOUTHERN [November 

Pennsylvania 850,000 tons. New Jersey 47,000 tons. 

Ohio 220,000 " Michigan 60,000 " 

New York 180,1)00 " Missouri 20,000 " 

New England States 35,000 u Other States 65,000 " 

Total 1,477,000 tons. 

Add the amount of iron made in forges and blomaries direct from the 
ore, without being first reduced to pig iron 35,800 " 

Total production of domestic iron in United States for 1868 1,512.800 tons. 

Imports of iron into the United States for the first nine months of 

1868 : 

Iron, pig and puddled 68,069 tons. Castings 963 tons* 

Bar, Angle, Bolt, and Ro-1 29,040 " Hoops, Sheets & Boih r plates, 11,9:33 " 

Railroad, of all sorts 209,368 " Wrought, of all sorts 3,128 " 

Total iron 322,501 tons. 

Steel, un wrought 11,322 " 

Grand total 333,823 tons. 

COAL. 

The English use this word generally in the plural, as "coals are 
high ;" but with them it refers only to bituminous coal, the variety 
commonly used in Great Britain. In this country, the singular noun 
is applied to all the varieties. The two great divisions are bitumi- 
nous and anthracite. Anthracite contains fewer gaseous products 
than bituminous, and is richer in carbon. 

Coal was an article of export from Newcastle, England, in 1281. 
During the reign of Edward I. its use in London was prohibited by 
several acts of parliament, the smoke being regarded as injurious to 
health. But as wood grew scarce, coal was substituted, and for 200 
years it has been the chief fuel of Great Britain. During the last 
half century, the growing use of the steam engine has enormously 
increased its consumption everywhere. The annual coal product of 
the -world is now estimated as follows : 

Great Britain 101,000,000 tons. Belgium 12,000.000 tons* 

North America 22,000,(00 " France lt',000,000 " 

Germany 1~,000,000 " Other countries 7,0o0,000 " 



Total (value $375,000,000) 172,000,000 tons. 

The area of workable coal-beds in all the world, outside of the 
United States, is estimated at 26,000 square miles, of which 1,500 
are in Australia, 6,000 in Great Britain, 1,000 in France, 800 
in Austria, 500 in Belgium, and 100 in Russia. That of the 
United States, not including Alaska, is estimated at over 200,000 
square miles, or eight times as large as the available coal area of all 
the rest of the globe. It has been calculated that at the present 
rate of consumption, the world's supply of coal would run out within 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 687 

a few generations, but doubtless some new fuel will be introduced, or 
some new discoveries of coal made, before such a period comes. 

Coal veins are usually reached by vertical shafts, but when found 
in hills are worked by horizontal galleries. On the slope of the 
hills opposite Pittsburg, 300 feet above the beds of the Monongahela 
and Ohio, may be seen* the openings of many of these galleries. 
This mode of taking out the fuel is far cheaper than hoisting it. 
Coal shafts in England sometimes reach a depth of 2,000 feet. Upon 
the largest of them, ten years' labor has been expended, costing half 
a million of dollars. 

The ventilation of the mines is an important point, and is best 
accomplished by up and down shafts, the foul air ascending in the 
former, and atmospheric air passing in to the workmen by the 
latter. Bituminous coal gives off large quantities of explosive gas, 
often causing terrible accidents. The Davy and Stephenson safety 
lamps prove of great service in preventing the ignition of this fatal 
fire-damp. Carbonic acid gas resulting from the explosion is known 
as choke-damp, and suffocates all who breathe it. Despite every 
precaution, such accidents are not unfrequent. One near Wigan, 
Lancashire, England, occurred in the latter part of November, 1868, 
causing the death of sixty miners. ' 

The coal deposits on the James river, fifteen or twenty miles from 
Richmond, were the first worked in this country. The great anthra- 
cite region of Pennsylvania, with its thriving cities and large popu- 
lation, was a dense wilderness half a century ago. Thirty years ago 
few mines in America were sunk below water level. Anthracite was 
first used for ordinary fuel in 1804, and for generating steam in 
1825. The first railway for its transmission was built in 1827. It 
now gives employment to upwards of forty railroads and canals. 

Pennsylvania takes the lead of all our States in coal production, 
and, indeed, her yield is more than 77 per cent, of all the coal pro- 
duct of the Union. That from the central portions of the State 
usually goes east to tide water. That from the rich bituminous 
region about Pittsburg and the head waters of the Alleghany is 
used for local consumption, or passes down the Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers. Nearly all the States along the Alleghany mountains have 
rich coal fields, as have also Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan 
and Missouri. Coal is found in workable form in more than three- 
fourths of all our States and Territories. The following table from 
the Census Report, gives the statistics of coal mined in the United 
States during the year ending June 1, 1860 : 



688 THE SOUTHERN [November 



ANTHRACITE. 



Pennsylvania 8,114,842 tons. 

Rhode Island 1,000 " 



Total 8,115,842 tons 

BITUMINOUS. 

Pennsylvania 2,690,786 tons. Iowa 41,920 tons. 

Ohio 1,265,600 " Alabama 10,200 «• 

Illinois 728,400 " Washington Territory 5,374 " 

Virginia 473,360 " Missouri 3,880 " 

Maryland 438,000 " Rhode Island 3,800 " 

Kentucky.... 285,760 " Michigan 2,320 " 

Tennessee 165,300 " Georgia.... 1,900 " 

Indiana 101,280 " Arkansas 200 •« 



Total Bituminous 6,218,080 •' 

" Anthracite 8,115,842 " 

Grand total (value $20,243,637) 14,333,922 tons. 

Increase in value since 1851, 1S2 per cent. 

No full official statistics have been collected since, but the returns 
of the Internal Revenue for 1864 show the product of that year to 
have been 16,398,186 tons, and the total product for 1868 did not 
vary far from 19,000,000 tons, valued at $26,000,000. The ratio 
of the several States has not changed greatly since 1860, except 
that the product of California, has sprung up. Her Mt. Diabolo 
mines are yielding about 200,000 tons annually. A land carriage 
of six miles and a water carriage of fifty, takes their product to San 
Francisco. The Bellingham Bay mines, in Washington Territory, 
already yield largely, and are capable of much greater development. 
They produce an admirable quality of coal, used extensively on the 
Pacific coast for manufacturing purposes. In our Atlantic cities, 
English cannel coal is used for making gas. The duty on imported 
coal is $1.10 per ton of 28 bushels. Our imports and exports for 
1867 are given as follows by the United States Bureau of Statistics: 
Coal imports, 521,305 tons, value, $1,455,044; exports, 285,101 
tons, value, $1,846,199. The export is chiefly anthracite, and more 
valuable than the imported qualities. 



Mexico is extremely rich in gold and silver. The total product 
of her mines, since the conquest by Cortez, has been estimated as 
high as $3,000,000,000. The ancients worked veins of silver, tin, 
and copper, but were ignorant of iron. 



Erratum. 

There is an error in the article on "Coal" in our October number, eighth 
line from the top of page 625 : instead of " 1752 " read 1792. 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER G89 



|§oitscJ)ofe gepmfmcnt 



Rural Architecture. 

No. 2. 



Not only is the hexagonal form the best for the interior of dwell- 
ing houses, but for the exterior, it is, in my opinion, infinitely more 
elegant than any other form. The English artist, architect and 
poet, John Raskin, thus discourses on the external features of 
architecture. " Until our street architecture is bettered, until we give 
it some size and boldness, until we give our window recesses and our 
walls thickness, I know not how we can blame our architects fo r 
their feebleness in their more important works. Their eyes are in- 
ured to narrowness and slightness; can we expect them at a word 
to deal with breath and solidity ? An architect should live as little 
in cities as a painter. Send him to our hills, and let him sfudy 
there what nature understands by a buttress, and what by a dome. 
Positive shade is a more necessary and more sublime thing in an 
architect's hand than in a painter's. As the great poem and the 
great fiction generally affects us most by the majesty of their masses 
of shade; so there must be, in this magnificently human art of 
architecture, some equivalent expression for the trouble and wrath 
of life ; and this it can only give by depth or diffusion of gloom, by 
the frown upon its front and the shadow of its recess. And among 
the first habits that a young architect should learn, is that of think- 
ing shadow, not looking at a design in its miserable liny skeleton, 
but conceiving it as it will be, when the dawn lights it and the 
dusk leaves it, when its stones will be hot and the crannies cool ; 
when the lizards will bask on the one and the birds build in the 
other. Let him design with the sense of cold and heat upon him ; 
let them cut out the shadows as men dig wells in unwatered plains; 
and lead along his lights as a founder does his hot metal ; let him 
keep the full command of both, and see that he knows how they 
fall and where they fade. We thank thee, Ruskin, for this 
matchless w T ord-painting ; and humbly answer, that our hex- 
into the cool shadows of piazza, loggia, pavilion now porch. And 
agonal exteriors answer all these requirements; now projecting with 
bold strength of outline, into the warm sunlight, and now nestling 
all this variety of sunshine and shadow i3 not wrought out for the 
mere purpose of making a building beautiful, but is primarily ob- 
vol. in — 44 



690 THE SOUTHERN [November 

tained for the strength and economy of the structure. Architects 
have hitherto tried in vain, to secure the greatest amount 
of beauty, with the greatest economy and strength of struc- 
ture. We think the hexagon house secures both beyond any 
thing that has yet been built. It has been known for ages 
that bees construct their calls of the largest size and strength 
possible, in proportion to building material employed, and each cell 
is a hexagon. So, even in architecture, instinct may instruct rea- 
son. Instinct makes no mistakes, and mav convey many valuable 
lessons to the proud reason of man, if he will but stoop to learn. 
In a magazine article, we cannot enter into details ; but we hope 
our readers will follow out these hints for themselves, and we will 
close this part of our subject with a few more quotations from our 
favorite Ruskin. "Architecture is an art for all men to learn 
because all are concerned in it, and it is so simple, that there is no 
excuse for not being acquainted with primary rules, anymore than 
for ignorance of grammar or spelling, which are both of them far 
more difficult sciences." " When men do not love their hearths, 
nor reverence their thresholds, it is a sign that they have dishonored 
both." Our God is a household God, as well as a heavenly one. 



Cloth from Hop Vines. — Mr. Van der Schelden, of Ghent, 
in Belgium, has discovered that the hop contains a first-class textile 
material, and has invented a process by which the fibers of the vine 
can be used for cloth without, in the least, interfering with the crop 
of hops. The following is said to be Mr. Van der Schelden's pro- 
cess of separating the fibres : 

When the hop blossoms have been gathered, the stems are cut, 
put up in packets, and steeped like hemp. This maceration is the 
most delicate process, since if it be not made with all due precision, 
it is very difficult to separate the threads of the bark from the 
woody substance. When the stalks have been well steeped, they 
are dried in the sunshine, beaten like hemp with a beetle, and then 
the threads come off easily. These are carded and worked by the 
ordinary process, and a very strong cloth is obtained. The thickest 
..stalks, also, yield the material for several kinds of rope. 



Soaping Cloth for Sewing. — We often wish to make gar- 
ments of new, bleached muslin before washing the fabric, and the 
starch contained in it makes it difficult to do so. To obviate the 
-difficulty, take a bit of hard soap and shave it down to an edge, and 
run it along the edge of the cloth you wish to sew, and you will find 
it will have a magical effect. It is equally efficacious if yon are to 
use a machine. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER AND FARMER. 



RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, NOVEMBER, 1869. 

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING. 
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Augusta County Fair. 

It gives us pleasure to report that, the late exhibition of this association is 
generally represented to have been attended with decided success. A detail of 
many particulars of the proceedings on the Fair grounds, in addition to what 
are given elsewhere in this issue, would have proved highly interesting to our 
readers, but we are withheld from presenting them by the appropriation of all 
of our disposable space to the reproduction, in part, of the admirable address of 
Prof. Mallet. We say in part, because we are compelled, for want of room 
in this number, to reserve a portion for our next issue. This address is fraught 
with the rich and matured fruits of his profound knowledge of chemistry, and 
its cognates as applied to agriculture, and is expressed in language so simple 
and upretending, and yet so clear and perspicuous, as to adapt its teachings to 
the commonest standard of popular intelligence : 

ADDRESS OF PROF. J. W. MALLET, 

DELIVERED A r 2 THE AUGUSTA COUNTY FAIR, WEDNESDAY, 
OCTOBER 13, 1869. 

Gentlemen of the Agricultural Society of Augusta County : 

In accepting the invitation with which I was honored a few weeks 
ago to address you upon this occasion, I was conscious of my 
inability to bring before you much of interest or value, but I felt 
that the invitation was one which, on several grounds, it would hu,ve 
ill become me to decline. 

The conditions which surround us in Virginia act present are such 
as to render it in a very high degree desirable that all the useful 
arts of life, and especially agriculture, from which all the others 
spring, shall be fostered and advanced by every legitimate means. 
The work set before the men of our day is so plainly the re-build- 
ing of the ruins in the midst of which we find ourselves placed, that 
no difference of opinion upon this head exists, and no discussion of 
so simple a proposition is necessary. We all see that the results of 



692 THE SOUTHERN [November 

the toil of generations that have preceded us are swept away, and 
that we are called upon, by more than the usual incentives that 
.stimulate the exertions of men, to labor for the speedy restoration 
of material comfort and prosperity amongst us. It may safely be 
said of Southern men that they are willing to go to work, and that 
they manifest an increasingly strong disposition to do so, not singly 
and selfishly, but with such mutual aid and encouragement as come 
of united public efforts. Those are none the less willing to work 
together helpfully and hopefully now who remember that they have 
stood shoulder to shoulder in other and yet more severe trials in the 
past. 

Amongst such united efforts at advancement in material prosperity 
there seem to be few better calculated to do good than the annual 
meetings of societies like yours, b?inging together the people o f 
large districts of the State in pleasant social gathering, affording 
opportunity for full discussion of questions of industrial interest, 
and displaying the actual results of improved agricultural practice 
and the novelties of mechanical ingenuity. 

It is the duty of every member of the community to aid on such 
an occasion in any way he can — best, by far, in the exhibition of 
some visible success achieved with the plough or the hammer; but 
if not so, then even in the inferior capacity of the speaker of a few 
feeble words, which, so far as they go, may at least be not inappro- 
priate. 

It is not only as a member of society, however, that I feel a most 
lively interest in the operations of such societies as yours and a 
hearty readiness to assist in them by any humble means in my power. 
The duties of the Chair which I have the honor to hold in the noble 
University of the State make me particularly desirous of profiting, 
as a student of agricultural science, by the valuable opportunities 
for gaining information, both by eye and ear, which occasions like 
the present afford. 

He whose duty it is to teach, if he would be more than a mere 
charlatan and pretender, must be especially solicitous to learn him- 
self — and one can seldom, during the year, find himself so well situ- 
ated for collecting information bearing upon agriculture, for getting 
at new and interesting facts, and for comparing the various opinions 
and experience of many intelligent men, as in the midst of an assem- 
blage like the present. 

But. yet further, I have felt that a peculiar obligation rests upon 
me to appear before you to-day, as affording a fitting occasion for 
the acknowledgement of a debt of thanks which the State University 
and the State itself owes to the liberality and public spirit of a 
former citizen of your county. 

The professorship of Chemistry, in its special applications to 
agriculture and the other useful arts, is one the probable utility of 
which had long been recognized, but which could only be established 
in a really efficient form by the expenditure of large sums for build- 
ings, apparatus, and material, so as not merely to provide for the 
performance of chemical operations by the teacher, but also for the 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 693 



practical instruction of students working with their own hands. It 
is upon the bequest of the late Mr. Thomas Johnson, of Augusta 
county, that the University of Virginia has been able some two years 
ago to introduce the study of the scientific relations of agriculture 
amongst the subjects of instruction within her walls, and since then 
to erect a new Laboratory building of such ample size and thorough 
equipment as to challenge comparison with any institution of learn- 
ing in America, in which the student may verify upon his own work- 
table the facts of nature of which he reads, and may learn to deter- 
mine such facts for himself, to ascertain the constituents of a soil-, 
analyze a specimen of manure, find out the real value of a marl, or 
prove the nature of a supposed metallic ore. A still larger gift to 
the University, intended for the promotion of agricultural science, 
has of late added to its means of usefulness in the same general 
direction ; but, as I have said, the present is a peculiarly suitable 
occasion for acknowledging the original obligation of the State at 
large to your county for a service, the value of which you can cor- 
rectly appreciate. 

When called to the professorship in question, and in attempting 
to enter upon its duties, I have felt most strongly that, in order to 
any really rapid and steady progress in scientific agriculture, it i3 
of the highest importance that there should be a more thorough 
mutual understanding and more concert of effort between scientific 
workers in the Laboratory and practical farmers in the field than 
have generally existed heretofore — that the chemist shall by all 
means help the farmer if he can, but that the farmer shall also be 
willing to help the chemist, and shall see the importance even to 
himself of his so doing — that both shall work together in a spirit of 
mutual good-will toward the attainment' of such knowledge of the 
laws of nature as may help us in the great task of bringing forth 
from the earth food for the use of man. 

It is to a few remarks upon this head that I venture to ask your 
attention to-day : 

To almost any one who has noticed the general progress of scien- 
tific agriculture for the last thirty years it will be evident that there 
has been a want of such concert of thought and effort as I refer to. 

Scientific writers, at least those really deserving of the name, have 
addressed themselves almost exclusively to scientific men — their works 
have been based mainly upon experiments made on a small scale, in the 
laboratory, or under more or less artificial conditions — their reason- 
ings and conclusions have been expressed in language so far technical 
as to repel the greater number of general readers. On the other 
hand, the efforts made by practical farmers have been made, in far 
too many instances, without an adequate knowledge of such well- 
ascertained laws of nature as bear upon the questions at issue, with- 
out acquaintance with the facts already ascertained by workers in 
the same direction, and without such a degree of accuracy and 
precision in the determination and statement of the means employed, 
and the results obtained, as can alone render useful to others the 
experience of those devoting themselves to such research. 



694 THE SOUTHERN [November 

Such one-sided investigations, whether by the men of science or 
the tillers of the soil, are greatly to be deplored. 

Amongst the noblest pursuits that can engage the thought and 
energies of man is the discovery of the unchangeable laws of eternal 
nature and the manner in which we must make our work accord with 
their dictates if we are to draw from the stores of wealth with which 
a kind Providence has surrounded us, all that we may enjoy of 
comfort and prosperity. 

There are four principal steps in the process by which man learns 
to subdue the resources of the world about him to his service and 
enjoyment: 

First — Observation of facts in nature. 

Second — Experiment, for the discovery of further facts. 

Third — Logical deduction of principles from the facts ascertained. 

Fourth — Application of facts and principles when determined, to 
the practical wants of our daily life. 

The husbandman notices the regular return of seed-time and 
harvest, the usual succession of the seasons, the facts that certain 
plants require certain climates and thrive best in certain soils, that 
in a new country a dense natural growth of hard-wood trees is an 
indication of fertile land, while thin scrubby pines furnish as distinct 
evidence of poverty of soil. 

As regards such observations, the main requirement is that they 
be accurate — that they be recorded in such a way as to really rep- 
resent the truth, not a part of the truth, but the whole truth, fully, 
fairly, and impartially stated. Thus, for instance, it is matter of 
the most common remark that the accounts given by travelers, in 
distant, and little known countries, of what they have seen and 
learned vary enormously in reliability. Two men will visit a foreign 
land, and, although both men of intelligence, both having had fair 
opportunities for observation, and both free from any disposition 
wilfully to deceive, they will make reports differing from each other 
almost as light from darkness. The one maybe careful to examine 
into the sources of his information and to verify his supposed facts 
as he accumulated them — the other may set down as facts what he 
has but imperfectly seen or uncertainly heard. Or, even though 
both reports contain nothing but well-ascertained facts, nothing but 
what could be proved to be true, yet the one may contain a large 
and fair collection of all the principal facts bearing upon t\\e ques- 
tions discussed, while the other contains only such unusual and 
exceptional facts as totally misrepresent the general condition of 
things. I know not what your experience here may have been, but 
further South there are few people who have not, within the last 
three or four years, heard just such conflicting accounts of the obser- 
vations made in Brazil and some other countries by those who went 
thither at the close of the recent war; some of those who returned 
represented the region visited as a paradise, in which it scarcely 
required more than the exertion of dropping the seed to ensure the 
most luxuriant harvests, while others brought away the impression 
that the hardest toil and greatest privations could scarcely be 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 695 

expected to result otherwise than in half starvation, ruined health, 
and shattered fortunes. 

It is not so simple or so easy a matter as it at first appears, to 
see truly, fully, and without distinction what is before our eyes, 
and then faithfully report what we have seen, neither more nor less, 
to others. A farmer who has always lived in certain portions of 
Virginia might state as the result of his observation that red land 
yields good crops. Another, living in parts of Georgia or Alabama, 
might assert that the poorest soil is that of the red lands — both 
statements might be locally quite correct; but if either be put in 
the form of a general observation that all red land is good or all 
bad the error of fact is manifest, and the two observers might dis- 
pute forever over their so-called facts without deriving any benefit 
from the arguments. 

But the thoughtful man is unwilling to rest satisfied with simply 
thus observing what passes before his eyes in the undisturbed course 
of nature. He often desires to change the conditions which go to 
produce a certain result — to see what will happen if such and such 
arrangements be made by himself beforehand — to take the plant which 
he has always noticed growing by the water side and see whether it 
can be made to grow in upland soil; and, if so, whether its habit 
and character will be altered — to determine by experiment in the 
labroatory what are the substances drawn from the earth by a par- 
ticular crop ; and by experiment in the field whether the application 
of these substances artificially to poor land may not increase its 
fertility — to find out the several circumstances which separately 
seem to favor the production of any form of vegetable growth, and 
then, by attempting the culture of the same, under all these favor- 
able conditions united, to try what is best, and the largest product 
which can in practice be obtained. 

In making such intentional changes of natural conditions in try- 
ing experiments — the same accuracy, the same careful attention to 
what really takes place before our eyes must be observed as when 
we simply notice the operations of nature unassisted by the efforts 
of man. 

And, in addition, much thought must be bestowed, much judg- 
ment must be exercised in deciding upon the precise manner in which, 
and the extent to which, special arrangements are to be made to 
bring out the precise result of which we are in search. 

Every experiment is a question asked of nature, and nature never 
returns a false answer; but we must take care, first, that we our- 
selves know exactly what question we want to ask ; secondly, that 
we ask that question and no other, no more and no less, and thirdly, 
that we understand what the answer returned actually is. 

Three farmers might undertake to experiment upon the effect of 
common salt upon the soil — one might report that the result was 
excellent, and the improvement of the crop manifest — another ex- 
actly the reverse, that positive injury was done — and the third that 
no effect of any kind was produced. On sifting the matter it might 
be found that one had used a certain moderate quantity of the 



696 THE SOUTHERN [November 

material in question, another an enormous and excessive amount, 
and the third so little as not perceptibly to influence the crop at all. 
Or it might appear on examination that the same quantity had been 
used by all, but upon different soils — by the first, upon land some 
of whose dormant constituents were rendered soluable and useful by 
the salt; by the second upon a soil poor in most of the necessary 
mineral ingredients, but already containing largely of salt, and sus- 
ceptible of injury by further addition of it ; by the third upon a soil 
sufficiently supplied with soluable mineral matter of all needful kinds 
to do perfectly well without the solvent action of the salt, yet not liable 
to special injury by such surplus of this material as had been brought 
in by the manure. Or, yet again, the experiment might have been 
tried upon similar land, but upon altogether different crops or in 
altogether different seasons. 

While, therefore, we must be very careful in sifting the details of 
the information, we suppose ourselves to have gained from observa- 
tion of what is going on in nature about us, and must be equally 
careful in arranging the conditions of our experiments and in stating 
the precise character and extent of the evidence accumulated by 
such experiments, we must still further exercise caution as to the 
logical conclusions we draw from our facts when we have got them — 
as to the manner in which we reason from these facts, assuming that 
they have been well determined. 

There are many ways in which we may deceive ourselves as to 
what is really proved by admitted facts before us. 

Thus, we may arrive at a conclusion from considering a number 
of separate statements taken as true, but of which some are in fact 
only probably or approximately true, and uncertainty of the conclu- 
sion increases astonishingly fast with the number of such cfoubtful 
assumptions, though there may be very little doubt about each of 
them by itself. For example, one may assert that his experience 
fully proves that a particular farming practice will be found profit- 
able, making out, perhaps, a \erj clear statement of expenditure 
and return under the proper head, but assuming a little with regard 
to each — that the cost will be about so much — that the difference of 
cost to him, and toother farmers, cannot be more than about so 
much, and that about such returns may be looked for on an average 
of different years. A very little error under each head will often 
be found to lead to woful error in the general result. 

Again, it is extremely common to find facts — themselves thor- 
oughly well established — coupled together in the relation of cause 
and effect without any proper warrant, but simply in consequence of 
some, perhaps accidental coincidence of time or place. A sick man 
is visted by the Doctor, who prescribes a dose of a particular medi- 
cine — the patient takes this, and soon after gets well or gets worse, as 
the case may be — how often do we hear the assertion that this proves 
that the patient has been cured or injured by the medicine, though, 
perhaps, the result would have been exactly the same if he had 
refused to take the prescription at all. In like manner it is amusing 
to notice the different styles in which the supposed effects of different 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER 697 

manures are spoken of in seasons of particularly favorable or unfa- 
vorable weather. In a very favorable season pretty nearly all crops 
do well, farmers are in too good spirits to make very precise com- 
parisons, and every one who has used any fertilizing material is 
disposed to say that, because he has made such or such an applica- 
tion to his land, and has obtained a fine return from his fields, there- 
fore he has " made the good crop by the manure," and that the par- 
ticular fertilizer he has used is that he is going to stick to in the 
future, and to recommend it to his neighbors. On the other hand, 
in a very unfavorable year, one of excessive heat or continuous rain 
for instance, no ones crop succeeds; every one is disappointed, and 
there is a strong tendency on the part of all those who have em- 
ployed fertilizers to declare the materials they have severally used 
worthless — each farmer, whether he impute fraud to the manufac- 
turer of whom he purchased or not, at any rate vowing that he will 
never again use the special material to which he attributes his ill 
success. 

It is highly important to remember that, while a particular result 
following after a particular procedure on one occasion of itself proves 
but little as to there being any true connection between them, if a 
like coincidence happen a second time the probability that the one 
is caused by the other is much strengthened, and if such experience 
often repeated shows that the supposed cause is always or almost 
always followed by the same result, while in the absence of the 
former the latter is also absent, the mind can arrive at but one 
conclusion. 

If a single farmer had on a single occasion strewn super-phosphate 
of lime upon his field, and in that season made a good crop of ruta- 
baga, it would be far from proved that the proper manure with which 
to prepare land for this plant had been found — but, when w 7 e find 
that the application of super-phosphate of lime after having been 
tried for many years and by thousands of farmers, almost always 
is succeeded by fine crops of field turnips, we are justified in con- 
cluding that the manure used has really been the cause of the gen- 
eral success, and that the exceptional cases of failure have been due 
to other causes — peculiar to the place or Reason — interfering. 

But even if our experience has been extensive enough to fully 
satisfy us of the dependence of a certain effect upon a certain cause, 
we may be wrong in assuming that that cause acts in a particular 
way. 



Correspondence of Southern Planter and Farmer. 

To the Editor of the Southern Planter and Farmer: 

Dear Sir— Judging from newspaper accounts, one would suppose that the 
negroes had taken possession of Washington, and were ruling it with a high 
hand, politically and socially ; on the contrary, very few negroes are seen on 
the streets or at public places. I was at the President's grounds this evening, 



698 THE SOUTHERN [November 

where the Marine band, uniformed in red like true Britishers, discoursed 
delightful music, and among at least one thousand persons which literally 
filled the grounds, there were not more than fifteen or twenty negroes of both 
sexes to be seen, and they behaved as well as in time of yore. 

I have seen the much talked of Capitol. The external view is very fine 
indeed ; the architecture is simple and chaste, but the dome is too large for the 
height of the building, and looks like a nightcap on a burly, well-dressed alder- 
man, if such a homely comparison is admissible — but, be that as it may, the 
tout ensemble looks well enough and the effect is rather pleasing. I was rather 
disappointed, though, on viewing the interior ; it is true that the rotunda, like 
the cupala, is on a grand scale, but all the corridors and passages are narrow, 
contracted, and not at all in proportion with the central figure of the architec- 
tural pile. The Halls of the House and the Senate are not what I expected them 
to be ; they present nothing that strikes the eye, and the adornment and gilding 
are all gingerbread work. The paintings in the rotunda, so much admired by 
some people, are hardly second rate works of art ; the execution is coarse ; the 
conceptions are neither ideal nor poetical ; they are matter-of-fact pencil sketches 
without originality or even spirituality. The men and women painted are not 
those they are intended to represent, neither in person nor appearance ; they are 
really men and women of the present day, and not of the -best type ; but the 
fresco painting in the dome caps the climax; it is simply absurd in its con- 
ception, too glaring in its coloring, and too spiritless in its execution. Wash- 
ington, beatifi d in Heaven, looks like an ash-colored ghost, with a piece of 
pale, purple-cjlored cloth thrown over his knees. The Goddess of Fame and 
the Goddess of Liberty are certainly two Massachusetts women of stalwart 
frame, but not too fine looking. War is represented by some grotesque human 
figures carrying the incendiary torch, and belching forth bullets from a cannon. 
But Commerce excels all the others in absurdity ; it is represented by Mercury, 
who does by no means look like a god, holding out a purse of money to Robert 
Morris, the revolutionary financier— what an idea ! Finance and Commerce are 
not exactly the same, and require different symbolical figures ; but it is hardly 
worth while to spend more ink on this worthless production of the fine arts. 

I ascended and descended the three hundred and thirteen steps that lead to 
and from the uppermost gallery of the dome, and I enjoyed the view, which 
is not grand but beautiful, of the city and Potomac ; mountains are wanting 
to make the prospect a grand panorama of nature; the Potomac, be it said in 
parenthesis, is certainly a grand old river, and presents the most beautiful 
sheet of water I have seen in these States — far superior in every respect to the 
beautiful James, beautiful only to the eye of Virginians, probably on account 
of its pleasant associations and old reminiscences. 

In all the public buildings I have not seen a single specimen of sculpture, 
with the exception of that of some public man. 

The grounds around the Capitol are handsome, but too small, considering 
that this is " la grande republique" — the country that has the longest rivers, 
the highest mountains, the largest lakes, and everything else the best. I went 
from the Capitol to the White House — this looks very neat and somewhat sylish, 
but does not recommend itself particularly as a work of art; it has the same 
fault as the Capitol; all the rooms, the blue, green, red, are narrow and con- 
tracted. The furniture would be elegant for the parlors of a private person, 
but it is not such as might be expected from a people who spend annually four 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 699 



hundred and fifty millions of dollars to pay their officials, and provide for the 
frauds and stealings of their public men ; it would be in perfect harmony with 
republican simplicity, provided the expenditures of the Government were not 
exceeding those of auy other country, and the public money were not spent 
with monarchical, if not imperial liberality. 

From the Presidential Mausion I went to the Patent Office; this building is 
indeed very fine, but the interior has again disappointed me. The halls of 
exhibition, at least one portion of them, display too much color, like some par- 
lors or sitting rooms. They have columns, massive and strong, but painted 
blue, with black and white striped pedestals — what perversity of taste ! Half 
an hour's rambling through the model rooms satisfied my curiosity completely. 
After I left the Patent Office, I took a ride on the cars to Georgetown — the street 
cars are a great institution here, especially a3 you can make a railroad prome- 
nade of five or six miles fur the paltry sum of six cents. Georgetown is an old, 
ugly town, and presents nothing that is remarkable. On Saturday I paid a 
visit to the Smithsonian Institute — the materials used in building are very 
appropriate, as well as the style, only it is too small for a world institution, 
such as it is designed to be. There, for once, the interior corresponds with the 
outside appearance, and everything is in harmony and proportion. The Indian 
and Asiatic cabinets, indicative of the civilization of these races, are somewhat 
original. The zoological, mineralogical, and geological collections are extremely 
limited, and the specimens are not always of the best kind. The only collection 
that presented great interest to me was that of corals, which is, perhaps, the 
best in the world, and includes some of the most beautiful specimens I ever saw. 
The officials of the Patent Office and Smithsonian did not have great advantages 
of education, for in the first, on a label, nutritive was spelt nutrative, and in 
the latter, chief justice was spelt clieif justice — these are certainly good speci- 
mens of Washington employees. I next went over to the Agricultural Bureau, 
and here I found everything gotten up in fine style, and beautifully arranged; 
the gentleman at the head of this department is systematic, and performs his 
duty well. The museum is small, but very neatly gotten up. The frames pre- 
sented by Vilmorin, of Paris, containing specimens of at least fifty or sixty 
different kinds of wheat, are in very good taste, and beautifully arranged, as it 
seems only a Parisian is capable of doing. I also had the pleasure of taking a 
close view of the famous Washington monument — it is designed to reach a 
height of five hundred feet, but has only attained to the diminutive stature of 
one hundred and seventy-five feet ; if it ever rises to its full altitude, it will be 
the highest structure in the world, with the exception of the Tower of Babel, 
whose fate it may share of remaining unfinished. I saw the stones so far contri- 
buted ; they are mostly from Masonic lodges, Odd Fellows, Temperance societies 
and Sunday Schools — Bremen, Switzerland, Greece, and a few others, are the 
onlv European contributions. On some of these stones there are engraved the 
name of the officers of the society, to immortalize themselves instead of Washing- 
ton, but they will be defeated, because they will be placed so high that no one will 
be able to discern even the letters. Speakingof monuments, I cannot refrain from 
remarking that the Washington, monuments are perfect abortions. Lafayette 
and Jackson, both represented on horseback, are placed on such low pedastals 
that the effect is entirely lost, they look as if they were about leaping on horse- 
back over a small hillock that obstructs their path. Lincoln in marble, placed 
on a marble column, in citizens dress, looks more like a horse jockey than a 



700 THE SOUTHERN [November 

man who deserved a memorial in brass or marble. Let me, however, add that 
the Richmond Washington monument is, perhaps, the finest on the continent; 
the design is beautiful, the execution is spirited and elegant, if not classical. 



The Plough from a Philological Standpoint — The Root AR. 

Any philological discussion may seem foreign to that practical character 
which an article for an agricultural paper should have; but perhaps it may 
interest your readers to trace the word for plough from its Argan origin into 
our modern English, and thereby to deduce the importance and dignity of agri- 
culture from the very words we utter, and at the same time to show how an 
original root ramifies as it comes down the ages, after branching off into a 
numerous family of words, connected by the tie of a common origin and a family 
likeness, but differing in meaning as much as the children or grand children of 
the same parents often differ in occupation, location, and habits of life. In 
order to make the tracing of this root ar or plough perfectly intelligible, it is 
necessary to state that comparative philology develops the fact that the Saxon, 
German, Latin, Greek Sanscrit, ancient Persian, &c, are all sister languages, 
having the same relation to each other and to a parent language, which the 
French, Italian, and Spanish have to each other and to the ancient Latin as a 
parent language. Philologists tell us that there was a time when the progeni- 
tors of those races which use or used the Indo Germanic or Argan family of 
languages dwelt together on the plains of central Asia, where they reached a 
considerable degree of cultivation at a very early period, probably cotempora- 
neous with Noah hiaiself, and where they impressed that character upon their 
offspring -which has made them, from time to time, the ruling races of the 
world. It is not to our present purpose to inquire when, or how, or why this 
people left their original ; but they did leave them and migrated. Some went 
southward and eastward to India, where the Sanscrit cultivation was soon 
developed, with its wonderfully perfect language and its magnificent literature; 
and this, too, at an early period — long before Solomon built his temple, while 
as yet the mythic gods and mythic heroes that contended around the walls of 
high Troy were far back in the womb of the future. But while some of the 
original clan wandered southward, most of them went toward the west — some 
by the southern route to Greece — developing the Greek language, mythology, 
and literature; some farther north to Etruria and Latium, founding the Latin 
civilization ; some went still farther northward to Germany ; some farther still 
to Scandinavia, and these last are our Saxon ancestors. This original, central 
clan called themselves Organs or ploughmen, and this original root, ar or 
plough, appears in the whole Indo-Germanic or Argan family of languages. 
Muller recognizes it in the Sanscrit, Old High German, Gothic, Gaelic, Old 
Norse, Welsh, &o. The Greek has it in aro-o I plough, arotron a plough, 
aroura a ploughed field. It appears strongly in the Latin, aro being I plough — 
orator, a ploughman — aratrum, a plough — aroum and ager a ploughed field — 
armentum, work cattle. And it appears specially in the Saxon. We have in 
English arable, agriculture, &c, through the Latin; but independently of the 
Latin we have many purely Saxon words exhibiting the same root. The Saxon 
word earth itself is simply what is ploughed— ear (of grain) is simply the 
result of the labor of the plough; while by a slight change of initial breathing 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 701 



we get year, meaning thus, plough or work time. Hearth exhibits the same ar 
aspirated, and points to a time when our ancestors lived in cabins, or on the 
naked ground, having their fires on the earth or hearth. Max Muller, who 
mentions most of these examples, refers aroma also to the same root — and also 
art, artist, artistic. In this sense aroma is primitively the ?mell of a ploughed 
field — Isaac comparing the smell of Jacob to the "smell of a field which the 
Lord had blessed;" while the first and most important art is in this sense the 
art of handling the plough ; the first artist a ploughman, and artistic work good 
ploughing — an interpretation, by the way, from which some of our modern artists 
might beg leave to demur. An original root would soon beget a numerous 
family of words having the family likeness, but different meanings. Labor of 
the plough would, when the Argans reached the sea, naturally pass into lab^r at 
the oar, the oar ploughing through the water as the plough did through the 
land — which by a very common transposition was called rowing. This deriva- 
tion of oar and row is defended by the fact that the English plough is the Greek 
ploion, a ship of burden— and the classic poets often speak of a plough sailing 
through the field, and of a ship ploughing the sea, and we preserve the latter 
figure in modern English. And as the ship oared through the water, so the 
bird soared through the air, that is, ploughed the air with his wings, a derivation 
defended not only by the family likeness of the words, but by the classic ex- 
pression " remigio alarum," "by the oarage of his wings," so often applied to 
Mercury, Perseus, &c. As the ear protrudes from the stalk, so the ears of 
animals protrude — and to use the ear is to hear; the Argan word for plough 
thus naturally but strangely naming one of the most important senses. The 
English arm, arms, armour, through the Latin arma, ormare, and the obsolete 
Greek aro I fit, I join, probably have the same origin, the first fitting or 
joining done by the old Argans being in the manufacture of their rude ploughs, 
their first arms being the peaceful implements of agriculture, which, however, 
so soon degenerated into the deadly armour of bloody war. 

Examples might be multiplied ; but enough has been said to illustrate the 
root ar t and to show that our very language gives dignity to agriculture, and 
makes the plough the foundation of all prosperity, and that our ancestors, so far 
from being ashamed of manual labor, called themselves Organs or ploughmen. 
Enough has been said, too, to interest those who fancy such speculation in the 
exceedingly rich and varied science of comparative Philology. 



Book Notices, &c. • 

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 
showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the institution for the 
year 1868. The report is presented by the venerable Secretary, Joseph Henry, 
and addressed to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Rep_ 
resentatives. The programme of the institution as adopted by the Board of 
Regents, December 15th, 1847, is republished, and there is a general appendix 
to the report containing interesting and instructive memoirs of Cuvier, Oer- 
sted, Christian Frederic Schoenban, Encke, and Eaton Hodgkinson — also, 
Recent Progress in relation to the Theory of Heat ; Principles of the Mechan- 
ical Theory of Heat; continuous movement of all matter, Ponderable and im- 
ponderable, &c, &c, with a large amount of practical matter on which we may 
often find occasion to draw for the instruction and entertainment of our readers 



702 THE SOUTHERN [November 

Farmers' and Mechanics' Manual. With many valuable Tables for Ma- 
chinists, Manufacturers, Merchants, Builders, Engineers, Masons, PainterSj 
Plumbers, Gardeners, Accountants, &c, 506 pp. octavo, by W. S. Courtney, 
revised and enlarged by Geo. E. Waring, Jr. — E. B. Treat & Co., publishers, 
654 Broadway N. Y. Sold only by subscription. Nearly fifty pages of this 
valuable book are devoted to soil, the composition of different kinds ; Exhaus- 
tion of Soils; Manures, liquid and artificial ; Draining, and the reasons for it. 
Rotation of Crops ; Properties and composition of milk, butter, &c; Butter and. 
Cheese making; Soiling cattle; Steaming food for stock; Gardening for 
market ; Steam cultivation, &c, &c. 

The American Year Book and National Register for 1869 — Astronomi- 
cal, Historical, Political, Financial, Commercial, Agricultural, Educational, 
and Religious. A general view of the United States, including every depart- 
ment of the National and State Governments, together with a brief account of 
foreign States, embracing Educational, Religious, and Industrial statistics ; 
facts relating to Public Institutions and Societies, miscellaneous Essays, Im- 
portant Events, Obituaries, &c. Edited by David N. Camp, published by 0. D. 
Chase & Co., Hartford, Connecticut. In a word, containing more useful and 
practical information on many subjects than can be found in a reasonable time 
by a widely extended research through many volumes, each written on one or 
another of these specialties. 

Abortion in Cows. — We are indebted to the courteous kindness of the 
accomplished Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society for the 
report of Wm. H. Carmalt, M. D., Commissioner of that Socieiy, for the investi- 
gation of "Abortion in Cows," an exhaustive treatise on the subject, founded 
on the most careful inquiries and observations, with explanatory illustrations. 
Address the Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society at Albany, 
New York. 

Blackwood's Magazine for October has been received. Contents: A Year 
and a Day, The Old Monk on the Belfry, Inventus Mundi, The War in Para- 
guay, Cornelius O'Dowd — (Forfeiting Paradise, Persano, Light business requir- 
ing no capital, Studying the Land Question.) Great Whig Journalist, Charles 
Reade's Novel. Leonard Scott Company, 140 Fulton street, East of Broadway, 
New York. 

Educational Journal of Virginia, Organ of the Educational Association. 
Editors: Charles H. Winston, D. Lee Powell, R. M. Smith, Thomas R. Price, 
and John M. Strother. Business Agent, M. W. Hazlewood, P. 0. box 490 
Richmond, Va. 

The initial number of this valuable monthly appears on our table just as we 
are going to press with our November number. We defer a more particular 
reference to it to a future occasion, but meanwhile would recommend it to the 
patronage of all who are seeking light and instruction on this subject. 

Subscription $1 a year. 

The New Eclectic Magazine, which has now been in existence three years* 
and with which has recently been incorporated The Land We Love, stands at 
the head of the list of Southern publications. At this period of the year, when 
persons are in the habit of choosing their periodicals for the winter, it is espe- 
cially requested of the public that they bestow at least a part of their patronage 
upon a periodical published in their interest, and which, the Southern and the 
Northern press both beiDg the judges, is the peer of any magazine published 



1869.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 703 

in America; both in its literary standards and the quality and attractiveness of 
its typography. 

The Galaxy for November. New York: Sheldon & Co., 498 and 500 
Broadway. A highly interesting number. Among its contents its readers 
will find the continuation of Susan Fielding, the Prince Suwarf, the English 
Universities, the Fire Fiend, Imperialism in America, the Play of the Period, 
And Editor's Tale, Literature and Art, Nebulae, by the Editor. 

The Carolina Farmer has completed its first volume, and will, on the 4th 
instant, appear as a weekly, in a new form, and will occupy an enlarged sphere. 
It will contain eight pages of five columns each ; and in addition to a largely 
increased amount of agricultural matter, will give miscellaneous family read- 
ing, market reports, and general news. Subscription $2 a year. Address Wm. 
H. Bernard, Editor and proprietor, Wilmington, N. C. 

The Phrenological Journal for November contains many interesting 
sketches, &c. Price only 30 cents, or $3 a year. A New volume begins with 
the January number. Address, S. R. Wells, Publisher, 389 BrGadway, New 
York. 



Bones. 

Folks tell us, Dear Planter, the best way to grow, 
Fine crops upon poor land, (as doubtless you know,) 
Is to fertilize well; while clearly tis shown, 
That " the best, and the cheapest," is real raw bone. 

For one I believe it, since I understand, 

The plan has succeeded, on all .sorts of land ; 

And from what I have seen, the conclusion's foregone, 

That the surplus of life consists of a bone. 

For once, at my dinner, while carving some meat, 
With " company " waiting, and eager to eat ; 
With something between a deep sigh and a groan, 
I suddenly cut, through my meat, on a bone. 

I moralized thusly — "Ah such is our life," 
(Even though we may be as keen as a knife,) 
We may ''• go it " in crowds, or " go it alone," 
But we oft get stuck, unawares, on a bone. 

Quite early in life, I loved a young girl, 
With beaming blue eyes, and gold-tinted curl- 
She said she loved me, and would be my own, 
But her father said No! I was stuck on a bone. 

In "market," however, quite soon did appear, 
A suitor, to whom, she lent a kind ear ; 
"A fortune," he had, all in right of his own — 
So he became meet— I was cut to the bone. 



704 THE SOUTHERN [November 

Long, long after this I got me a wife, 
To cheer and enliven my " pathway of life" — 
And tis patent to all, wherever she's known, 
That the most of her " Heft" is real raw bone. 

In matters of Church and of State tis the rule 
The " official's " a wise man — the layman a fool ; 
And for all our follies they make us atone, 
By eating our meat, and leaving us bone. 

Your "merchant" who sells you Guano, down town, 
At " Ninety some Dollars " fur every short ton, 
Will get all your wheat, when the threshing is done, 
And you find out too late, you're stuck to the bone. 

This " vain, foolish world" is prone to admire, 
The party who keeps most fat on the fire ; 
Whose kettle will never grow cold like a stone, 
While dogs and poor Laz'rus may gnaw on a bone. 

Would you know what I am ? When my last step is trod, 
And my "mortal remains" repose neath the sod — 
You'll find out on peering beneath a cold stone, 
That death has left of me but Six Feet of Bone. 



The Charlottesville Woolen Mills. 

We would again call attention to the manufactures of this enterprising 
Company. Frum samples which may be seen at our office, we are sure that 
any one might make a tasteful selection, and we doubt not that our friend, Mr. 
II . Clay Marchant, the obliging superintendent of the establishment will make 
such an exhibition at our State Fair as shall fully justify our recommendation. 



The Norfolk Oil Fish Guano Company 

Is the style of a new Company recently inaugurated in Norfolk for the man. 
ufacture from Fish, of Oil and Phosphatic Fish Guano. This enterprise comes 
in most opportunely to supply a great need in the South, and we have no doubt 
it will be most lib rally sustained. All information about this Fertilizer will 
be most cheerfully furnished by John M. Donn, Esq., the General Agent of the 
Company, Norfolk, Va. 



Drain Tiles. 

The numerous inquiries after this article are at length answered in our adver- 
tising pages by Maurice Evans, Family Grocer, of high character, 32G Broad 
street, Ilichmond, Va.